A Dream Come True
by Tokyorose627
Summary: "Mikaze Ai." The man said, Mallory gave a small noise of confusion, her voice almost giving out trying to say something due to the close proximity. "W-What?" She said softly, looking up at the man. "My name." What happens when a designer/assistant for Saotome Agency gets the chance to become an idol like she's dreamed of? Will she succeed? Or will something else blossom?
1. Is This Reality?

_Hello~ I'm mallory627 and I've always had a affinity for Uta no Prince sama! I saw the series since the beginning and have loved it ever since! I have always contemplated on making a series for it but I was always either busy or couldn't think of anything, but I really love my take on a OC that is neither an idol nor a Composer, but a designer and an Assistant. She will train to become an idol, but who knows if she will succeed or not? We can only find out through the story! Updates maybe irregular due to work and such, but I'll try my best! Thanks and happy reading!_

_Just a little notice about my OC, she has short brown hair cut in a pixie hair style, I couldn't really find a good place to describe it in the fic, also I suck at kind of describing hair without going off track! So now you know~_

* * *

_A Dream Come True..._

* * *

Dazzling light shone down on her, music blaring through the speakers that surrounded the theater as people cheered and screamed her name. Sweat ran down her face as her breath was labored from the last intense song, but she continued on with a smirk, before continuing with the next song. She was graceful, sexy, spontaneous, determined; everything a master idol should be.

If only that was her.

* * *

Her teeth chewed on a pencil in thought, her brown bangs lightly covering her eyes as she watched the TV screen next to her desk. Mallory always watched her when she got a text or a message; it would be rather rude of her to miss her own sisters performance on the TV screen.

"If only I could be like the great 'LOR EL I'..." The girl muttered through her pencil, taking the utensil out of her mouth and setting it next to her sketch book. Mallory Nakagawa was a rather simply girl, with simple goals and expectations; one of them was wanting to be like her older sister, LOR EL I. Her real name was Emi Nakagawa, both girls born to a man from Japan, while their mother was from America. Her sister lived her dream, going to the prestigious Saotome Academy to learn her skills, and even got to into the Master Course and have her very own senpai to watch over her.

Mallory on the other hand, had difficulties when she was studying to become an idol; not getting accepted into Saotome Academy was one of them. She could still remember it like it was yesterday...

* * *

_"Nakagawa, that name is familiar. You wouldn't happen to be related to Emi Nakagawa, would you?" One of the judges asked, her eyes leering towards Mallory curiously as she looked over the young girls file._

_ "Uh, yes! She's my older sister, actually." Mallory exclaimed nervously, her face flushed a light pink; getting used to people recognizing her sister was sill hard for her, especially when people started expecting her to be just like her older sister. She fidgeted in her seat lightly, glancing from side to side as she watched the judges._

_ "Fifteen years old, born into a normal income family, I also see that you have experience in designing for idols and scheduling. A rather...interesting list, for someone wanting to be an idol, and wanting to enroll in Saotome Academy; are you sure this is something you're qualified to do, put your all in?" The woman said back, her gaze back at the girl in front of her. Mallory jumped a little, before she nodded her head, a determined look in her eyes._

_ "Yes! I'm willing to do whatever it takes!" Mallory exclaimed, before the woman looked at her files once more, turning the page to her stats as an artist as well as her scores in the preliminary auditions. Her look of interest turned slowly began to disappear, eyeing the girl every few moments. Her scores were average, but ranging from average to below average, as well as written notes on things that had happened, such as sloppy dance work, stumbling during lyrics, and other problems._

_ "I'm sorry, but we can't accept you into the Academy; your record shows too many mistakes, and it seems that being an idol for you wouldn't be your number one priority," Mallory's smile fell as she heard the words come from the judges mouth, her hands shaking lightly. "however, you have experience with design. I see that you've made outfits for some idols in the past, your sister included, and you also have experience in scheduling as well." The woman looked at Mallory straight in the eyes, "You may not have what it takes to be an idol yet, but maybe you could work well in another department. We've been looking for someone to intern as a designer in training, as well as an assistant for idols. You would do well there, and you could learn more about the business. It could even help your chances of becoming an idol someday." Mallory gave a look of surprise, her brown eyes glimmering lightly from the news, not sure what to say._

_ "So," the judge looked at Mallory, "would you like to join the Agency?"_

* * *

Mallory gave a blissful smile, remembering the memory fondly. It had been two years since that fateful day, and she was happily working as a designer and assistant for Saotome Agency. Some of her works had been shown in some magazines, and she couldn't be happier.

Though being an idol was her dream, the one thing she wanted to do. She wanted it more than anything, to be an idol just like her older sister. She promised her mother that she would do her best, even after...

"No." Mallory muttered to herself as she shook her head, not wanting to remember that part of her past; it was always too painful. "Though I wanted to be an idol, I'm happy here..." Even as she said that though, her heart still wavered, wanting what she had always dreamed of for so long. She had even thought of scheduling another audition for herself, but...

"Ma-lo-ry!" Arms wrapped around Mallory from the chair she sat in, ultimately trapping the poor girl as the sudden smell of what seemed to be strawberries entered her nostrils. A smile graced her lips as a laugh came out, the sudden feeling of shock washing away as she turned in her chair to see the dark red-haired idol herself.

"Tomochika! Don't scare me like that!" Mallory closed her sketch book as she got out of her chair and hugged her friend for a few moments, her thoughts of gloom being pushed to the back of her mind. "When did you get here? I thought you had a lesson to go to with your senpai?" Tomochika was one of her best friends she had met while working with the agency, the two becoming inseparable once they met. She was in the Master course as well, Mallory remembered, with Tomochika having her own senpai and going through the motions of becoming a true idol.

"Sakura-senpai gave me a break, so I decided to stop by your little work office and see how you're doing!" A smile graced her rose lipstick colored lips, as she sat down on the couch that graced Mallory's small office, looking around at the small trinkets and necessities that she had; bookshelf with books, a desk, a TV, among other things. It was a rather bland looking room, but her friend had begun to decorate it in some colorful things to give it some life. Tomochika gave a sigh however as she watched her friend get back to work.

"Don't you ever feel like you're all cooped up in here? Why not take a break and go out; I know this great cafe that sells all kinds of sweets you'll love!" The offer was rather tempting to Mallory, as she glanced at her schedule in some hope that she would have time. A look of apology came to Mallory's face as she looked at Tomochika.

"You know I can't Tomo-chan," Mallory gave a small smile to her friend, "I have a lot of work to do with these designs, plus I have to work out a schedule for my boss." Tomochika gave a sigh, giving her friend a sour look.

"But you're always cooped up in here; you've kept rescheduling for the past three weeks now," she gave a smile to ease her friend, "it'll be fun, I promise!" A few minutes passed as Mallory contemplated once more; she could always come back and finish, and it wouldn't take that long...

A sigh came as an eventual smile came to Mallory's lips, "Alright, but we're going to the sweets shop and that's it." A cheer came from Tomochika as she jumped from her seat, grabbing Mallory's hand in hers as she pulled he to her feet as well, causing Mallory to almost stumble from the sheer surprise of her friends happiness. She still held her smile regardless, fortunate to have a friend like Tomochika. She always wondered how she was doing, and the two were always willing to help the other out. The two laughed with grins on their faces as they left the office, on their way to have some fun, and to take some time to relax.

* * *

"Ok, maybe it was a good idea to go with you~" Mallory said with a grin as she and Tomochika sat outside next to the small café they arrived at a few minutes ago. At their table stood a small tray littered with different sweets; different colored macarons, crème puffs, small cakes, it was heaven to the girls. Tomochika drank a small cup of sweet vanilla tea as she watched Mallory gape at the array of sugary delights, a smile coming to her lips.

"What can I say, I know exactly what you like!" Mallory took a crème puff and popped it into her mouth, moaning in delight at the taste of the vanilla crème. Tomochika held in a chuckle when she saw that some of the powdered sugar from the treat was on her friends cheek, simply handing her friend a napkin to clean up the mess, Mallory thanking her sheepishly before she cleaned up the sugar. "So, anything new been happening with you since the last time I saw you?" Mallory took a sip of her passion fruit lemonade, glancing at Tomochika.

"Well, I've designed more outfits for a group of male idols, but other than that, nothing really," Mallory stayed silent for a few moments, before looking at her friend, "And...well I've also been thinking of trying out for another audition actually." Tomochika perked up at the statement, pushing a few strands of her red hair behind her ear.

"Really? But I thought you had stopped trying?" She knew of her friends dream to be an idol, but also knew of the troubles that she had when trying out; her stage fright got the best of her almost every time, and it had been a rather long time, she would have had to also practice as well. "Have you been brushing up? Like practicing your breathing and working on your dancing?" A look of dejection came to Mallory's face, looking down at her iced tea.

"I mean, not really. I haven't really made a decision yet." A small chuckle came from Tomochika as Mallory looked up at Tomochika with a confused look, when a crème puff was stuffed into her mouth, Tomochika giving a smile.

"Mallory you'll be fine; you should definitely try again! Maybe this time you'll get in, and you'll get to train to be a real idol! It's your dream, isn't it?" Mallory blinked for a few moments to get herself over the small shock of a pastry being stuffed in her mouth, before she chewed the crème puff in her mouth, swallowing before giving her friend a surprised look. Tomochika always knew a way to cheer her up, and she was always supportive. A grin came to her face as she gave a laugh, nodding.

"Yeah it is! Alright, I'll do it!" Mallory held her drink in her hand, as Tomochika took hers as well.

"To becoming and idol!" Tomochika exclaimed with a grin. Mallory gave a smile back, "To _both_ of us becoming an idol!" They tapped their glasses together in unison, both laughing afterwords.

* * *

"Sorry I had to drag you over here." Tomochika apologized to Mallory as the two walked down the pathway past Saotome Academy to the dorms that Tomochika stayed at. "Sakura-senpai would have killed me if I didn't come back on time; I hope I'm not making you late or anything." They had left the café and were about to go their separate ways, but Tomochika had been called back by her senpai to help her with something, and for another lesson. Mallory still had some time left before she had to be back, so she decided to tag along. "Hey, at least you'll get to see the Master Dorms with me! It'll inspire you to get to the top!" As Tomochika continued to talk however, Mallory began to contemplate the promise that the two had made only an hour before.

How in the world was she going to become an idol? She would have to train and study up first, and then enroll into Saotome Academy! She had tried so many times before, who knows if they would even let her in at this age.

Mallory gave a small worried look, even if they did let her in, she would have to pass all her classes and make it to the top; by the time she even did that, she was sure that Tomochika would be years ahead of her in the idol industry. Her thoughts were interrupted however when Tomochika had called her name.

"Mallory? I said we're here." Mallory looked in front of her as her eyes gazed at the beautiful sight; a large stone pathway littered with cherry blossom trees greeted her sight, petals falling from the trees an onto the ground below as the large Master Course Dorms came into full view.

"...Woah." It was all Mallory could say; she was at a loss for words. "You live here?!" Tomochika gave a laugh as she patted her friend on the back, letting her walk along side her.

"Of course I do! All the students who get into the Master Course do! Another one of my friends lives her too, along with the group she composes for." Mallory had heard Tomochika mention her friend, Nanami Haruka, more than once over their time together; Mallory had even met her around once or twice while with Tomochika. As the two talked, something caught Tomochika's eye, and a large grin appeared on her face. "Haruka!"

A girl that was walking along the same pathway to the dorms stopped as she heard a voice call her names, her yellow eyes wandering to look behind her as she was suddenly hugged, a short gasp coming from her. "Tomochika, your here!" Mallory gave a grin as she ran over to the two, walking over to watch Tomochika hug her friend; it seemed she did that with all of her best friends. "I thought you were going out with one of your friends?"

"I had to come back because Sakura-senpai needed me to come back over, but I brought my friend along with me! You remember her right, Nakagawa Mallory?" Tomochika let go of her friend to give some room to re-introduce Haruka to Mallory as the young orange haired girl looked at Mallory.

"Oh, right I remember! It's nice to meet you again, Nakagawa-san." Mallory saw Haruka bow lightly to her as she gave a smile, before she bowed to Haruka as well.

"The pleasure is all mine, Nanami-san. I know that you live here from Tomochika, and that you're also a composer?" Haruka gave a nod, a smile coming to her face.

"Yes, I compose for a group called STARISH. I've composed for them ever since I was in Saotome Academy." Mallory perked up at the name of the group Haruka was composing for, it sounded so familiar...

"Wait, STARISH? My boss told me to start making designs for your group!" Mallory said in surprise; no wonder the name sounded so familiar to her. Haruka gave a smile, "Really? That's great! I hope we get to see your designs soon!" Mallory gave a sheepish grin, when the two girls were pulled in by Tomochika with a smile.

"Well, since we've all gotten acquainted, why not get into the Dorms before my senpai gives me a lecture?" Both Mallory and Haruka gave a laugh, smiling as the three girls made their way into the building.

* * *

"I gotta meet up with Sakura-senpai you two, so I'll see you guys later!" Tomochika said with a smile, before she ran off down the larges halls of the dorms, waving goodbye to the two girls. Mallory gave a small wave to her friend, now left alone with Haruka. Mallory shuffled on her feet a bit nervously, the quiet air around the two making her feel a bit uncomfortable. She was never really good with talking with people she barely knew, but she knew Tomochika, so maybe they would get to know each other better.

"Ah, I'm sorry Nakagawa-san, but I have to go." Haruka apologized to Mallory, looking at the brown-haired girl with regret. "I wish we could have talked more, maybe we could even have tea sometime together?" Mallory looked at Haruka for a few moments, before giving a smile.

"I'd love to, Nanami-san. And just for future reference, you don't have to call me Nakagawa-san, we know each other already; you can just call me Mallory if you'd like." Haruka gave a small laugh, nodding.

"Alright, Mallory. I'll see you later than; feel free to walk around, I'm sure Tomo-chan will be done in a while, so enjoy yourself." Haruka waved goodbye to mallory, which Mallory returned, as Haruka walked off with composition books in her arms, leaving Mallory by herself. Once she saw Haruka leave from her sight, Mallory took another breath-taking sight at the Master Course building in front of her, the halls held pictures of exquisite art, along with verandas and desks with vases of flowers. The floor was lined with red silk carpet, and the hallway entrances were made of fine wood, shining in the sunlight that filtered through the giant windows.

It was a place of beauty for anyone that had the opportunity to stay there, and to Mallory, it was a sign of something that she could strive for. Being in the master Course would be a dream come true for her, wanting to be an idol like her sister was something she wanted so bad. "Well, I guess I can take a look around while I wait for Tomo-chan." Mallory gave a small laugh at the nickname that Haruka used for her friend, she should start using that to address Tomochika from now on just to tease her. Mallory soon began her journey through the Master Course Dorms, looking around and staring in the sheer beauty and size of it all. Many idols had been here to become top idols, her older sister included. Now if she could get her chance, she would be here too, someday. As she continued on her way, she spotted a room with wooden doors, labeled "Piano Room". The door was left slightly open, with Mallory being able to peek inside; no one was there, or so she saw.

"I guess I could take a quick look." Mallory muttered to herself curiously as she opened the door, walking into the lesson room. The room was rather simple, the walls were covered a crème colored paint, with pictures of flowers or musical motifs such as sheet music or other things. Along the wall was a wooden desk that held paper and blank sheet music, with utensils for writing down compositions that came to aspiring musicians and they played. Mallory looked around once more, until her brown eyes stopped to gaze at a beautiful sheen black piano. Mallory saw the soft glow it gave from the sunlight that shone through the nearby window, and she couldn't help but walk closer towards it. The details on the instrument were breathtaking; shining and pristine, the piano had no scratches or ware marks, and it had eighty-eight beautiful keys lined perfectly, soft to the touch.

"If only I could afford something as amazing as this..." Mallory trailed off, her gaze on the instrument never faltering. She did have some time to wait for Tomochika, and she hadn't used a piano in some time. Mallory gave a soft smile as she walked forwards towards the piano, sitting down on the piano stool that was in front of it, as she settled herself. Setting her fingertips against the keys of the piano, she began to play a soft melody on the keys, remembering it as the melody that her mother had always taught her. It was a past time of her mothers to play the piano for herself and her sister, wanting them to have some musical experience in an instrument. The fond memory flooded through her mind as she began to play, her fingers gliding over the keys seamlessly, her heart beginning to pour out through the music. As she played, she didn't even notice that she began to sing, her voice soft and in tune with the piano, remembering the fond memories with her mother. They always stayed with her, even when she was alone. She continued to play, the keys playing to resound notes through the room, the melody pouring out of the room to reverberate through the halls of the Dorms. The door to the room she was playing however slowly opened as footsteps walked through the room, however as Mallory played she couldn't hear them due to how entranced she was by her own playing and singing. Mallory's eyes scanned the piano keys she played, however her eye caught something next to. As she played, she glanced to see a body next to her, standing next to the piano she played, watching her.

"Ah!" Her heart jumped as she gave a surprised gasp, her hands slipping from the keys she was playing to smash against the keys beneath her fingers, creating a rather sour note in her playing. She took a few breaths to calm herself down, her hand resting against her chest as she calmed herself, glancing up at the person that had walked in. "I-I'm sorry, you startled me is all. I...wasn't playing too loud was I?" Mallory asked nervously, hoping that this person wasn't going to lecture her. The person simply stared at her, his cyan eyes staring down at the piano, before glancing at the girl at the instrument.

"No, your playing did not disturb me. I only wish to know who was playing, as well as where the singing was coming from." Mallory gave a small sigh, giving an apologetic look to the man in front of her, when she noticed his features. He had cyan colored eyes, his hair as well was the same color, shoulder length but partly up in a small ponytail. He was rather handsome, she thought to herself, his skin flawless, and he looked rather young she noticed. He was wearing a white shirt and pants with a beige vest, as well as a white jacket. Did he live here? Before she could ask however, he interrupted her.

"Who are you? I have never seen you here before in the Master Dorm." The man was rather blunt she could tell, but she gave a small cough to clear her throat from her singing earlier.

"I-I'm a friend of Shibuya Tomochika, and of Nanami Haruka. I'm waiting for Tomochika to be done with an errand, and then I'll be returning to my office at Saotome Agency." Mallory simply said to the man, before she got to her feet from the chair, pushing it lightly so she could stand properly. "My name is Nakagawa Mallory, it's nice to meet you." Mallory gave a short bow to the man, a formal introduction was always the polite thing to do. The man simply watched her, studying her, before he spoke.

"Nakagawa," The man repeated the name, "you work at Saotome Agency as a designer and an assistant to idols." Mallory gave a surprised look, standing up straight as she looked towards the man.

"You know of me? I didn't really think people knew who I was..." Mallory gave a shy smile, laughing lightly. "Your sister is also the master idol, LOR EL I. A rather skilled idol fo someone her age." Mallory perked up at that statement, nodding lightly, "Uh, yes, she's my older sister." She felt a bit awkward talking to someone that knew of her sister so well, and praised her on her work; it always made Mallory feel a bit uncomfortable. The room fell silent for a few moments, Mallory shifting lightly from side to side, before she looked up at the man once more. "Um...so, what's your name-"

"Mallory? I'm done, we can go now!" Mallory was cut off when she heard a familiar voice resound through the halls outside the room; it was Tomochika. She must have been done with her lesson with her senpai. She gave a glance towards the man she was speaking to moments before, before giving an apologetic smile.

"I-I have to get going now. I'm sorry if I disturbed you in any way-" Mallory continued to speak as she tried to move to get away from the piano and out of the room, she stumbled on her own two feet, tripping back, knowing what was going to be coming next, her head would hit the piano and pain would flood through her. She shut her eyes and waited for the pain to take her, but her eyes snapped open when she felt nothing, as well as hearing the piano behind her create a sour sounding note, the notes reverberating through the piano room. Her breath halted in her throat as she felt herself leaning against the piano, her arm stretched out to rest against the keys, which had created the sour note that she had heard, while the man who she had just met, held his arm around her waist to keep her from falling, with his other hand against the piano to steady himself. He was holding her rather close, which made Mallory's face turn an entire shade of red as she stared into his cyan colored eyes. She felt the arm around her tense up slightly, as she stared back at the man holding her, not sure what to say, or do for that matter. His eyes were starig straight at hers, his expression showing almost no emotion however, a rather stoic look was held on the man's face as Mallory's heartbeat faster and faster. She noticed that faint smell of lavender however, it smelled so soft and so faint; was it coming from him? He spoke however before she could ask.

"Mikaze Ai." The man said, Mallory gave a small noise of confusion, her voice almost giving out trying to say something due to the close proximity.

"W-What?" She said softly, looking at the man in front of her, her voice almost a whisper.

"My name." He simply said, pulling her softly back to her feet, his arm coming off the piano as Mallory straightened herself on her feet, shaking lightly from the even that occurred. She quickly dusted herself off nervously as she then bowed to the man, who she now knew as Mikaze Ai.

"T-Thank you Mikaze-san!" She was too nervous to look back into his eyes, her face hot and red from what had occurred; their faces were so close, and his arm had been wrapped around her waist...

"Mallory? You here still?" Tomochika's voice could be heard again as Mallory straightened up quickly, remember that her friend was looking for her. She looked at Ai once more, before bowing once more, and turning to quickly run out of the room; she didn't want to stay in that room any longer without embarrassing herself more then she already did.

* * *

Ai watched the rather flustered girl leave the room in a sudden hurry, seemingly to go and find Tomochika. He glanced at the door that she had run out of, before glancing back at the piano. He had heard a melody come from the piano that he had never heard before, and it had peaked his curiosity.

_Nakagawa Mallory,_

_younger sister to Nakagawa Emi AKA LOR EL I,_

_half Japanese and half American,_

_designer and assistant for idols working with Saotome Agency._

The data flooded through his brain as he remembered the girl who he had just left.

"Hm?" He felt rather odd though, a rush of something that he couldn't describe when he had caught her. She was rather light to hold his arms, and he could tell that she had been rather embaressed by the whole situation. He knew the situation would occur however, noticing a eighty-five percent chance that it would occur when she had stood from the piano seat; she had pushed it lightly askew, which caused her foot to be caught by one of the legs of the stool. As well, he smelt a faint perfumee from her which smelled of roses and vanilla; a rather feminine scent that in truth, complimented her.

Though why was he so interested by her? Curiosity most likely, she was a rather odd girl to encounter. But still, it was rather odd of him to still think of someone for this long, and a girl no less...

He would have to check his sensors when he got back to his room. He only hoped his students weren't in the mood to annoy him.

* * *

"Hey, there you are! Hey what's with your face, it's all red. Are you not feeling well?" Tomochika noticed Mallory's rather flushed face, if only she knew what had happened in the piano room moments ago.

"Oh nothing, I was just...running to find you is all." Mallory said, trying to catch her breath, and to stop her heart from pounding so fast.

"Mallory, Tomo-chan!" The two girls turned to see Haruka again, though this time with a group of boys, the group known as STARISH. Mallory had seen them on the news a such, but never in person. It was a rather surprising sight for her; despite working at Saotome Agency, she had never actually met any of the idols, except Tomochika of course.

"Hey Haruka, you guys going to go and practice?" Tomochika asked the group, Haruka giving a nod. "Yep, I've written a new composition, and I want to show the others." Mallory gave a small smile, momentarily forgetting her flustered state as she watched the two girls talk.

"Well then, if you'll excuse me, I have to get going back to my office before my boss fires me for being gone for so long. I'll see you guys later-" Mallory was about to finish her goodbyes to Tomochika and Haruka, when she was cut off again, but this time, by a disembodied voice in the main living room of the dorms.

"I'M AFRAID YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT MS. NAKAGAWA!" A loud boisterous voice exclaimed though the hall of the dorms. Everyone's attention turned to the mysterious voice, wondering where it was coming from.

"Oh no, not him again..." Mallory heard one of the members of STARISH groan, who had blonde hair and was wearing a black fedora. "What does he want now?"

"What? Who are you talking about?" Mallory asked to the boy, rather shaken by what was happening. Suddenly a loud roar was heard as everyone look above to see a tanned man with dark brown colored hair, wearing a brown tux with a red polka dot tie. He was...suspended from wires?! Mallory looked at the man incredulously, before the wires snapped and he majestically flipped to his feet in front of the group. Mallory stared at the man in strange and confused awe, trying to figure out what exactly was going on, but no plausible solution came to her mind.

"I AM BACK ONCE AGAIN MY IDOLS IN TRAINING! HOWEVER, I AM NOT HERE FOR YOU!" The man exclaimed, his sunglasses hiding his eyes from the others. Mallory watched the man, at a loss for words, who the hell was he?!

"Excuse me, but who are you?!" Mallory exclaimed at the man, looking straight at the man who had appeared in front of he group. Haruka, Tomochika, and all of STARISH turned to look at Mallory for a few moments, while Tomochika tried to calm Mallory down.

"Mallory, you don't understand-"

"Understand? Understand what, that guy that just appeared in the building from wires! Who in their right mind would do that?!" Mallory exclaimed, confused and shocked beyond belief. Tomochika was about to talk to her friend once more, but everyone's attention, Mallory's included, was turned back to the man that had made the grand entrance as he scoffed lowly.

"You do not know who I am, Ms. Nakagawa?" He asked, chuckling to himself as he looked at the girl with a smirk. Mallory simply shook her head, still having her confused bewildered look on her face; why would she know a man like this? "You should know, for I am the owner and founder of The Shining Agency, SHINING SAOTOME!" He exclaimed loudly and boisterous, giving a rather flamboyant pose to emphasis his point. Mallory simply stared at the man, not really believing what she had just heard. This man, this strange, exuberant, confusing, flamboyant mysterious man, was Shining Saotome? She had never actually met the founder of the company she has worked at, due to being just a simple designer and assistant; it wasn't exactly an important job. She looked at Tomochika and Haruka, who, even though watched Saotome with an exhausted look on their faces, gave Mallory a nod; what he said was true. Mallory simply looked at Shining Saotome shocked and rather stunned for words, before she realized that she had spoken out of turn to her boss. Her face went red and went from a look of shock, to a look of worry.

"I-I'm so sorry sir!" Mallory exclaimed, panicking as she bowed deeply to Shining Saotome, mentally scolding herself for thinking illy of her boss. Even if he was a bit odd, and had rather strange ways of doing things, he was still her boss. Hopefully after what he heard, he wouldn't fire her on the spot. She, still bowing to her superior, looked up however when she heard Saotome begin to laugh loudly as he watched her.

"There is no need to apologize to me! However, I have a proposal for you, Ms. Nakagawa!" Mallory looked at Saotome confused, slowly straightening up, to look at her boss.

"Pro-proposal? For what exactly?" She asked a bit hesitantly, blinking a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing things, or hearing things for that matter. Saotome gave a laugh once more, watching the girl.

"My company and I have kept a watchful eye on you Ms. Nakagawa. I know how you have auditioned to become an idol over ten times, and have failed all of them. However, despite the failures, they make you stronger with a more determined resolve; TO BECOME AN IDOL!" Mallory jumped lightly when she heard Saotome exclaim at her once more, but was more stunned by how he knew of her attempts to audition, he had watched over her?

"W-Why have you been watching me sir? I don't exactly give out results like the idols that have come from your school..." Mallory trailed off, looking down at the floor dejectedly. She had tried and failed every audition that she had entered in, she couldn't even get into his school.

"Ah, but that is what makes you so special my dear~" Saotome said to Mallory, a smirk forming on his lips. He walked towards the group merely a few feet away from Mallory. "Even though you keep failing time and time again, you keep trying. Most people your age would give up after the fourth or fifth time, however you still continue, after failing thirteen times. That gives you character, determination, confidence; everything an idol needs to be successful." Mallory was silent, looking at Saotome astonished; the founder of the company that she has worked for, and most of all, her boss, was complimenting her on her failures; what had she done to deserve this type of recognition?

"Uh, I'm not sure where this is going sir." Mallory said Saotome, still rather confused; what exactly was he trying to say. Saotome merely laughed again as he looked down at Mallory.

"Ms. Nakagawa, I am giving you your opportunity you have wanted for so long!" Saotome exclaimed, looking down at the girl. "I'm giving you the chance to become an idol!" Mallory gave a confused sound, looking at Saotome in pure shock!

"Y-You can't be serious?!"

"I am Ms. Nakagawa! However, there is a catch to all of this!" Mallory gave a look of uncertainty, watching the man. "You will not become a true idol right in the beginning! That title must be earned through hard work and dedication! I have assigned a group to tutor and mentor you to become a true idol!" Mallory was completely silent, he couldn't be serious...but his smile never faltered.

He wasn't joking.

"THEY WILL BE YOUR SENPAI!" Saotome exclaimed as he pointed towards an area of the room, Mallory, and everyone else present turning to have their gaze settle on four men that had walked into the room, their cue being heard by them. "QUARTET NIGHT WILL HELP YOU ON YOUR JOURNEY!" He began by pointing to each member, "Kotobuki Reiji, Camus, Kurosaki Ranmaru, and Mikaze Ai!" Hearing the last name Saotome said made Mallory perk up, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks as she glanced at Ai. His cyan eyes met her brown ones once more for a split second, before his gaze left hers to look somewhere else rather than her; she was glad for the most part, the memory of what happened minutes ago was still fresh in her mind. "One more thing," Mallory turned to look back at Shining, his grin never leaving his face, "If you are to accept there are rules of course! In order to take this opportunity, you will be assigned as Quartet Night's designer and assistant; if they need anything or in need of any service, you are to help them to the best of your ability! In exchange, they will teach you the ways to becoming a true idol!" Mallory was about to speak, but Saotome cut her off.

"As well, if you are to accept, it will be a difficult journey for you. You will have almost no experience, and if you are to take this chance, you will be assigned straight into the Master Course."

"S-Straight into the Master Course?" Mallory stuttered out, her eyes wide, her expression almost in sheer fear of the magnitude of the statement. Sure she had practiced a few times, but delving straight into the Master Course of Saotome Academy, it was insane to even think of it. Haruka and Tomochika gave shocked looks as well, the offer rather worthwhile.

"B-But Saotome-san," Haruka asked nervously, looking towards the man, "Wasn't Quartet Night assigned to STARISH by you?" Mallory looked at Haruka for a few moments, just hearing of this; was it true? Saotome simply gave a small chuckle, looking down at Haruka.

"As I recall Nanami-san, your group decided to reject Quartet Night's help, only to watch over them, for they wanted to work for themselves." Haruka blinked at Saotome, before giving a nod. "Then there is no problem with this! Your group will simply share the advice of Quartet Night with Nakagawa-san, if she is to agree." Saotome turned to look at Mallory, as well as Haruka, Tomochika, STARISH, and Quartet Night. "What is your answer, Nakagawa-san?" Mallory gave a nervous look, shaking lightly; she was supposed to choose now? It was a lot to take in; become an idol and automatically join the Master Course, as well as be taught by an idol group? Saotome watched the girl contemplate, a smirk coming to his lips. "If it is too difficult for you, you do not have to take the offer-" Mallory's eyes snapped open when she heard Saotome's voice led her on, resolve flowing through her. This is what she had wanted for so long, why does she need to even contemplate the choice?

"I'll do it." Mallory said rather lowly, to assure herself, answering Saotome.

"Hmm? Say it louder Nakagawa-san, so all may hear you!" Saotome exclaimed at the girl a grin appearing on his face. Mallory's hands tightene into fists, looking up at Saotome with a fierce look of determination in her eyes; she was ready to face any challenge, willing to do whatever it took to get what she wanted.

"I said I'll do it!" Mallory exclaimed, the shocked looks of Haruka, Tomochika, and STARISH all staring to Mallory, "I'll join the Master Course, and I'll become a true idol!"

* * *

_And there was the first chapter! I hope you liked it! This series will be a story, and the love interest will be...I'm not sure yet. I believe it will be Ai, due to the way I wrote out Mallory and Ai's ntroduction together, it could turn into something more as time goes on, but you never know, the others could be equal competition. I will think it over, and will think of a decision as I write the next coming chapters. Thanks for reading, please Read & Review! Reviews are what keep me going! :D_


	2. Quartet Night

_Hello again dear readers! Here's the next chapter of A Dream Come True! I had a bit of difficulty with trying to choose which senpai would go first, as well as what the lesson would be. I decided to go with Camus first, so I hope I did it justice!_

* * *

_Quartet Night_

* * *

_One Week After the Acceptance_

* * *

"Um, thanks by the way, for helping me move in a stuff; but you didn't have to you know." Mallory said as she held a box in her hands, walking through the Master Course Dorms to the girls only dorm.

"It's no problem, I wouldn't be a good senpai if I didn't help my student with something. You're going to do great here, and with our help, you'll be an idol in no time!" Mallory had recently met one of her senpai's from Quartet Night; Reiji Kotobuki. He was very kind to her from the beginning, offering his help to Mallory when she had to move to the Girls Dorm. The two walked with boxes to the dorm, passing a few doors to find Mallory's room, a gold plaque next to hr door with her name engraved on it.

"This is my room," Mallory breathed out, looking at the room inside, "my room at the Master Course..."

"It must still be a lot to take in, suddenly being trained as an idol, and straight into the Master Course no less." Reiji said with small smile, setting the boxes he held in his arms as she straightened up to look at Mallory. "It'll be challenging for someone like you; you sure you can handle it?" Reiji walked over to stand next to Mallory, the two gazing out at the window from her room, seeing the luscious garden and lake nearby.

"I know it'll be difficult," Mallory started as she turned to look at Reiji, "but I'm willing to give it my all to be an idol like my older sister." She took a small step back, giving a bow to Reiji. "I'll follow your instructions and do my best Kotobuki-senpai." Reiji studied Mallory for a few moments, before giving out a heartfelt laugh.

"You'll definitely do great Mal-chan!" Mallory stood up as she looked at Reiji for a few moments, blinking in confusion.

"M-Mal-chan?" It was a rather odd nickname to call a student, but if it was what Reiji wanted.

"And since we already know each other, you can call me Rei-chan!" Mallory became flabbergasted at the statement, looking at her teacher. "R-Rei-chan? Shouldn't I call you Kotobuki-senpai?" Reiji simply gave a shake of his head a he held a smile.

"I'm strict but not that strict, you and I are students, but we're also friends now. You can count on me if you need help, and in turn, I'll ask for help from you!" Reiji gave a smile as he looked down at Mallory, before she gave back a smile, nodding.

"Right! I'll help you in any way I can, Koto- I mean, Rei-chan." It still felt rather odd to call him that, but she would get used to it.

"Great, since we got everything in here, I gotta meet back up with the group to discuss how we're going to teach you. Come by the Practice Room when you're done unpacking!" Reiji gave a last wave goodbye to Mallory, before he left the room, leaving Mallory with her belongings, and with her thoughts. She slowly closed her door as she sat on her bed, laying down against the mattress as she held a pillow in her arms.

She was really here? At Saotome Academy, in the Master Course. What a strange turn of events for her...

"I gotta get unpacking." Mallory said with a grin, beginning to open her boxes and unpack her things, setting her design books and plans against her desk and along her walls, as well as her scheduling books she kept with her. She would Quartet Night's designer and assistant, and she would do the best she can to learn from them.

* * *

"I met up with our newest recruit, she's got spirit!" Reiji said with a smile at the other members as they waited for Mallory in the practice room. "I really think she has what it takes; she's willing to do anything to become an idol."

"We have to see what she's made of first. You heard what Saotome said, she's barely had any experience." One of the members mentioned, he had gray hair, as well as gray eyes, but one of them was a purple, a sign of heterochromatic eyes. "Why'd I get stuck with teaching newbies? First Saotome orders us to teach STARISH, then they don't even want our help, and now we have to teach some new girl?"

"Saotome asked us to do this Kurosaki, I suggest you follow his orders unless you'd like to get in trouble." Another one of the members spoke, who held a scepter in his hand, glancing at Ranmaru with a rather cold expression.

"Besides, this could be fun! We get to be a group, and help a new recruit! It's exciting Ran-Ran!" Reiji exclaimed with a grin, hands on his hips. Ranmaru simply gave a scoff; he wouldn't enjoy this one bit. "What about you Ai-Ai, what do you think of Nakagawa-san?" Ai was thinking to himself, arms crossed as he glanced to look at Reiji who was waiting for his answer, his thoughts interrupted.

"...She's interesting." He said softly, looking away from Reiji as he continued to think. Reiji gave a whistle, looking at Ai.

"Wow, Ai-Ai usually never has an opinion on new recruits; let's hope she's ready for your strict lessons!" Reiji gave a laugh once more, however stopping when she heard footsteps enter the room. "Ah, speak of the devil! Welcome Mal-chan!" Mallory walked into the room, one of her hands resting on her other nervously, giving a small smile.

"Hello." She said, walking over to meet the group face to face; it was a bit nerve-wracking, but she would need to get a grip and get in gear. She wanted this more than anything in the world.

"She looks rather plain." voiced Ranmaru, arms folded against his chest as he leaned against the wall behind him, studying the girl.

"Ran-Ran, that's not very nice to say to our new student." Reiji said with a frown as he looked at Ranmaru, who in turn huffed in response. "Sorry about that, Ranmaru's nice once you get to know him." Mallory gave a small nod to Reiji as he apologized, though she couldn't help but feel some hostility in the room. "Anyways, let's get to introductions, you've already met me!" Reiji turned to look at Camus, "That's Myu-chan! He's a Count from the Kingdom of Permafrost!" Reiji then turned Mallory's attention to Ranmaru, "The grumpy one over there is Ran-Ran!".

"Hey, I'm not grumpy!" Ranmaru exclaimed with annoyance, glaring at Reiji. "And stop using those dumb nicknames already!" Reiji simply gave a grin, then pointing over to the last member.

"And over there is Ai-"

"Mikaze Ai." Reiji gave a confused look as as he turned to look at Ai, his expression calm and stoic. "She and I met a week ago."

"Really? That's great, now you know all of us!" Reiji announced with a smile, looking at Mallory. "Now, let's get to business!"

"The conditions for your lessons are simple; each of us will switch off by training you in the fundamentals of being an idol; dance, vocal, and visual appeal." Camus began, pointing his scepter at Mallory. "Do you understand these conditions?"

"Y-Yes." Mallory exclaimed, giving a nod to Camus.

"In exchange for teaching you and preparing you for the idol world, you are now our assistant and designer. If we ever have any matters that need to be discussed or have a predicament that we wish to discuss, we will contact you and expect you to help us in resolving anything," Ai stated, staring at Mallory, "Do you accept these conditions?" Mallory gave a nod to Ai, before Ranmaru walked over to study the new student.

"One more thing; over the course of your training we will al give you tests to make sure you're improving and taking in the information. Failure to improve will have consequences." He gave Mallory a rather cold expression, looking down at her. "Do you accept the conditions?" Mallory felt her confidence dwindle slightly when Ranmaru gave her the cold expression, but she gave a nod, determination in her eyes.

"Great, we've got everything worked out! But just remember, even though you're working for us, we're still your senpai's! We'll be tracking your progress and make any notes to give you if you need to improve in an area!" Mallory gave a small sigh, at least she knew that she could get some advice if she were ever in any predicament during her training; that's what senpai's were for. "The rest of the day you have to relax, but tomorrow your real training begins!" Mallory gave a nod towards the group, giving another bow towards them.

"Thank you very much; I promise I won't let you down!" Shortly after Mallory left the room, Reiji gave a smirk.

"See? I told you she was determined! Mal-chan will do great here, I can feel it!" Ranmaru simply gave another annoyed frown, dismissing Reiji's comment with a wave of his hand.

"I give her a few days; she won't act so tough when she gets through all of our training. Especially with Mikaze's training; remember his last students quit after only a month due to his lessons being so difficult."

"We'll just have to wait and see, now won't we?" Camus said, beginning to walk out of the room, with Ranmaru following close behind. Reiji was about to leave, but turned to look at Ai.

"Ai-Ai, something up?" Reiji asked, noticing the boy never left his spot in the room. Ai turned to look up at Reiji, giving a shake of his head.

"I'm just trying to understand why Nakagawa-san is so determined, despite the lack of training she has. Her chances of succeeding are rather low." Reiji gave a noise of understanding, thinking for a few moments.

"Well, even though she doesn't have a lot of experience, that's where we come in. We're here to help her meet her goal, and you saw how determined she was. When someone has a dream they've wanted for so long, they'll do whatever it takes to make it come true!" Reiji gave a smirk towards his companion, wrapping an arm around Ai's shoulders as he gave a smirk, to which Ai gave back an annoyed glare. "You'll warm up to her when you see her train, and then maybe you'll opinion will change!" Reiji gave a wave and walked out of the practice room with a grin on his face, but Ai continued to stay in his spot, still processing what Reiji had said.

"...Warm up to her?" Ai simply gave a small sigh, walking out of the Practice Room as well, hands in his pockets. "Reiji should stop saying such stupid things."

* * *

"Your lessons start tomorrow? That's great Mallory-san!" Haruka said with a smile as the two girls sat in Haruka's room; the two decided to talk and get to know each other more, and the subject of Mallory's lessons came up.

"Thanks...though I don't think all the senpai's really want to teach me." Mallory groaned, giving a small sigh. "One of them, Kurosaki Ranmaru, kinda gives off a cold attitude; I don't think he likes the idea of teaching me, but I don't know why."

"Hmm, well maybe he's just stressed because he's also been assigned to STARISH? It's a lot to take in, considering their group has to mentor two groups now." Haruka said as she began to write in one of her notebooks. Mallory gave a small nod, "Yeah I guess you're right."

"Well, I know you'll do great Mallory-san! I can't wait to see you sing as a true idol." Mallory gave a smile at Haruka. "Thank you Nanami-san."

* * *

_The Next Morning_

* * *

A knock was heard at Mallory's dorm room as she walked over, dressed in a simple light pink cardigan and jean shorts, as well as a pair of brown sandals. She opened the door to see long blonde hair, knowing the man at her door.

"Oh, Camus-senpai, do you need something?" She asked, opening her door full to look at her teacher.

"I am here to tell you that your training begins now; come with me at once." Mallory gave a nervous smile, and simply closed her door, before beginning to follow her senpai.

"So, what are we going to do first?" She asked, following behind Camus curiously. She watched the man walk, seeing that he was rather refined; he stood proud and tall, gentle yet stern, and held an air of importance.

"We will be doing a lesson on the idol business, as well as discussing the fundamentals of what make an idol." Mallory gave a nod as Camus spoke, however she noticed as she followed him that they were not heading toward any lesson room, but to the kitchen.

"Um, Camus-senpai, why are we heading towards the kitchen?" The young idol in training, asked as the two stepping into the kitchen, as Camus began to take out a fine china set, as well as a teapot made of fine porcelain. He simply stayed quiet as he took out a box of tea herbs and a carton of milk, as well as a pot, before turning to look back at his student.

"We are talking about the fundamentals of being an idol," He looked down at her as the display of items greeted her vision, "now, what do you see here?" Mallory stare at the items, a bit confused by the question.

"Uh...a tea pot, and ingredients to make tea?" She honestly had no idea where Camus was going with this, but he gave a small breath, before beginning his lecture.

"What we are looking at is the fundamentals of being an idol." He explained, beginning by pouring water into a pot, before he set on the stove, turning it on as the flame flickered lightly. "The teapot represents, you, your will and determination to become an idol, as well as your core as a human. It is the base to an idols spirit, and what makes them unique." Mallory gazed at the porcelain teapot that Camus had taken out, gleaming lightly from the kitchens light; it was rather beautiful. Once they waited for the water to be properly boiled, Camus took the pot of hot water and set it onto the counter. "Now, tell me what the water, milk, and tea herbs represent." Mallory looked at the ingredients; she remembered that the teapot was a person who wished to be an idol.

"If the teapot represents me, then the ingredients would be...the experiences I gain?" Mallory asked, glancing up at Camus with a calculating gaze.

"Correct. The tea herbs, milk, and water represent the lessons you learn as we teach you, and in turn you'll progress as a person, and into a better idol." He took a spoon and began by taking a spoon of herbs, and dropping it into the teapot, before pouring the steaming water into the teapot, to let the herbs give the tea flavor. "However, students make the mistake of taking on too many lessons, and begin to slack off, as well as get lazy in their actions." As he spoke, he took the teapot and poured the tea into one of the teacups, before handing it to Mallory delicately, putting the pot onto a heating pad to let it heat once more. "As they begin to get lazy and slack off, their music and hard work suffers, causing their downfall." Mallory took the cup gently in her hands, before she blew on the hot beverage softly, before taking a small sip. Her face turned into a sour look as she forced down the foul liquid into her throat, coughing a bit once the beverage had left.

"I-It tasted terrible..." Mallory moaned, wishing the taste of the horrible tea would end.

"That I why I am teaching you this; students slack off and get lazy, which in turn makes their hard work suffer, as well as the company they work for. Just like idols, pouring tea when it has not fully settled gives a foul taste, and ruins the joy and pleasure of drinking it." Camus then turned off the heating pad that he had left the teapot on, having left the porcelain utensil to sit and heat up for a few more minutes. "That is why, you as a student, must take your time. Rushing into things will only stunt your progression, and will make you become sloppy. Take things slowly, and all of your experiences and lessons will pay off to create a wonderful harmony." He then poured a small amount of milk into the teacups, as well as the newly heated tea, before setting the teapot down to take his own cup, steam rising from the liquid. Mallory took her cup hesitantly, afraid that it may taste foul again, but she blew the steam away, before taking a sip of the tea. Her eyes widened, swallowing the tea as she gave a surprised look.

"It's sweet now." She whispered softly, before looking up towards Camus; he may looked cold and calculating, but Camus was very knowledgable when it came to being an idol. Mallory gave a small smile, her face giving a soft gaze to her senpai.

"Hmm? What is it?" Camus asked, noticing that his student was staring at him intently.

"A-Ah nothing! I'm just grateful to have you as a teacher!" Mallory said, her face flushing lightly as she gave a nervous laugh. Camus stared at Mallory for a few moments, his icy blue eyes staring back into her brown ones, before he broke contact, giving a small scoff, a smile coming to his lips.

"You are a rather odd one, aren't you?" He asked, drinking more of his tea as Mallory gave a small annoyed huff, but a smile came to her lips as well; she would like to know what Camus would teach her next, and what her next experience would be.

"Um, Camus-senpai? Do you think we have more time to try different teas?" Camus perked up at the question, setting his cup down against the counter.

"Hm, I suppose we could try a few more." Mallory gave a smile as she watched Camus take out different types of tea.

"_Arigatou_, Camus-senpai."

* * *

_Yeah, second chapter done! I usually suck at updating but I love UtaPri, so I'm pumped to write every chapter to see how my plot will progress. If you have any comments or suggestions for the story, put in a review! I always like hearing people's ideas, and I could use some for the lessons actually! XD_

_Until next time, see you soon!_


	3. Conflicting Opinions

_Hey guys! It's me with the next chapter of the story, Conflicting Opinions! It's Ranmaru's turn and he's still not exactly liking the idea of teaching a girl..._

* * *

_Conflicted Opinions_

* * *

"_Arigatou_, Nakagawa-san." Ai muttered at the dining table, reading a magazine in front of him, as Mallory brought a tray holding a porcelain teapot; the same one that she had been used to train with by Camus to get the tea making process down correctly. If she was going to be their assistant as well, she would need to know how to make tea properly.

"You're welcome, Mikaze-senpai." Mallory said with a small smile, setting down the tray as she set three tea cups on the table, one for Ai, one for Camus, and one for Ranmaru. She began by pouring the milk in first, humming a light tune as she then poured the the tea. After, she stirred each cup with a small spoon before handing each male their cup. "I also brought white sugar and brown sugar since I still don't know your preferences, just in case." Camus took his cup, putting a small spoon of sugar in his tea, stirring it before he took a sip of his drink.

"...I see you chose the rose tea today." Camus glanced at Mallory, which she gave a small nod.

"I thought you would like something a bit more refreshing today." Mallory gave a nervous look, trying to keep her cool. It was always hard to figure out what Camus was thinking, but he gave a rather content nod, an approving look appearing on his face.

"Continue to use this tea for me over the course of the next few days, though I suggest letting the tea settle for another minute." Mallory gave a nod, determined to get it right the next time she was tasked with this again. "Did you also bring what I requested?" Mallory jumped a bit, realizing she almost forgot as she quickly ran back to the nearby kitchen, before coming back, holding a small wooden basket. She set it down on the table, the basket showcasing many types of different sweets; checkerboard cookies, biscotti, and other desserts and pastries that went well with tea.

"I went to the café that you requested, and they knew your name right away. They gave me your sweets, and told me that you're welcome by there again anytime." Camus gave a simple nod of his head, while Ai took a cookie from the basket, settling it between his lips as he continued to read silently.

"That's all we need Nakagawa-san." Camus announced to their assistant, as Mallory gave a short bow.

"If that is all you need, I'll be going then." Mallory took the empty tray from the table, leaving the teapot and sweets with them before turning to leave, but stopped, before turning back to face the three. "Actually, could I ask a question?"

"You may." Camus said, having another sip of his tea, along with a few of the sweets that he settled onto a plate he had brought with him.

"Well...I haven't had a lesson in over a week, and I was just wondering if something was wrong." Mallory asked, though a bit shyly, and a bit hesitantly; she wanted to train and learn, but she didn't want to annoy or irritate her senpai's as well. They had their own business to attend to, and she understood that. Camus looked at Mallory as he drank his tea, swallowing before he set his cup down.

"As I recall you have only had lessons with myself, and once with Reiji on your visual appeal. The only ones left to teach the first time would be either Mikaze or Kurosaki." At the statement, Ranmaru visibly stiffened in his seat, a scowl on his face as he ate one of the many assorted snacks from the basket.

"I believe it is Ranmaru's turn to teach you Nakagawa-san." Ai said, glancing at the gray-haired male as his scowl began to worsen, before folding his arms across his chest.

"I already told you I'm not teaching her!" He exclaimed, glaring at Ai for putting him on the spot.

"Why not, I haven't done anything to you!" Mallory said back to Ranmaru, a small glare appearing on her face. Ranmaru simply gave a huff towards the girl, tilting in his chair.

"Girls are always annoying to teach, they're too soft and they let their emotions get in the way of their training," Ranmaru gave a scowl towards Mallory, "They're a pain." Mallory gave a glare back towards Ranmaru, trying to control her anger, but he was pissing her off. Wouldn't teach her because she was a girl? How absurd was that?!

"I came here to learn to be an idol, and you're the one prolonging my development because I'm the opposite gender?" Mallory asked Ranmaru, rage starting to seep in through her words.

"Yeah, so what?! I wouldn't expect you to understand." Ranmaru voiced back at Mallory, his scowl never leaving his face.

"Understand? Understand what, that you're being sexist and unreasonable?!" Mallory exclaimed back at Ranmaru, clear that her anger was starting to take control of the conversation.

"Both of you are being rather childish," Ai said, watching the two fight as he looked up from his magazine," Nakagawa-san, is this how an idol would act?" Mallory heard Ai's statement, and blinked a few moments, before taking a breath, and standing tall, a guilty expression coming to her face.

"N-No senpai, I'm sorry." She felt rather embarrassed now, one of her senpai's had to stop her from getting out of hand; that wasn't good.

"See I told you, girls get too emotional." Ranmaru pressed on, his scowl lessening, but a glare was still clearly on his face. Mallory gave an annoyed scowl to Ranmaru, but he simply scoffed, getting out of his chair and walking away, hands in his pockets.

Mallory gave a sigh, watching with an annoyed look as Ranmaru stormed off. "What's his problem with me?" She was generally confused and annoyed by the man, holding the tray in her arms.

"Ranmaru has things he wishes to keep to himself," Ai muttered as he took another cookie from the basket, "he has his reasons, however selfish they may be." He motioned for Mallory to sit down in the seat that Ranmaru previously sat in, and she obliged her senpai's offer, sitting down as she gave a sigh, eyes settling on the teacup that she had handed Ranmaru; he didn't even touch it.

* * *

"Hey Nanami-san, would you have any idea why Kurosaki-senpai would have a bias towards me?" Mallory couldn't help but go to someone for help, and the one she knew she could turn to was her composer friend. She gave a rather annoyed look as she addressed her senpai; could she even call him that if he hasn't even taught her anything, and refuses to teach her anything at all?

"Hmm, well I couldn't really think of anything; maybe you should try asking Kurosaki-san yourself." Mallory gave a shake of her head, a frown on her face.

"I'm sure he'd just slam the door in my face." She sighed as she flopped onto Haruka's bed, looking up at the ceiling fan the spun slowly in circles. "I just don't understand why..." She muttered softly, breathing softly. Haruka gave a pat on her friend's shoulder, giving an encouraging smile.

"It'll be alright Mallory-chan; maybe one of the other senpai's could answer your question!" Mallory blinked for a few moments, giving a sigh; it couldn't hurt to try.

* * *

"Ah, so Ran-Ran won't teach you?" Reiji asked, the two talking outside in the gardens, the two settled next to each other on a wooden bench. He folded his arms, looking rather upset. "Saotome told us to teach you, but Ran-Ran won't consider it because you're a girl?"

"I told him he was being unreasonable, but that only got him more annoyed with me." Mallory gave a worried look, hands fiddling nervously in her lap. "How am I supposed to progress if one of my teachers doesn't even want to teach me?" Reiji cast his gaze down at his student, he could tell how distraught she was by this news.

"Ran-Ran has some things that he likes to keep secret...things that in the past hurt him." Mallory looked up at Reiji, noticing his demeanor had changed. He sounded more serious, and more mature than his usual bubbly self. "He likes to keep his emotions bottled up, not show anyone what he's really feeling. He's always like that, but deep down I think he wants to teach you; he thinks of you as a challenge."

"Me, a challenge?" Mallory asked, giving a confused look at her senpai. Reiji gave a nod, a small smile coming to his lips.

"Yep, Ran-Ran likes a good challenge every now and again, but I also know he has a strong sense of duty. Saotome had us become your teachers, and he knows that he has to teach you...but some stuff gets in the way of that." Mallory looked down at her lap, giving a small sigh.

"So, now what I do?" She muttered, her mood still in a rut. Reiji gave a small laugh, suddenly wrapping an arm around Mallory's waist and pulling her close. She felt his arm around her as he pulled her closer to him, her face blushing red as he heart began to beat a mile per minute. "K-Kotobuki-senpai?!" Reiji simply gave a hearty laugh, before ruffling Mallory's short brown hair, a grin on his face.

"Don't be so down Mal-chan!" Reiji chuckled a bit before looking down at his student, a smile appearing on his lips as he spoke softly. "Ran-Ran will pull through in the end, all you have to do is wait." Mallory gave a small nod, her face still dusted red from the close contact the two shared.

"Y-Yes senpai." Mallory said, giving a small nod, before Reiji gave a goofy grin, hugging Mallory as he ruffled her hair.

"You're just so cute Mal-chan!" Mallory blushed again when she felt her senpai hug her tightly, and he called her cute too?

"K-Kotobuki-senpai, my hair's getting all messed up!"

* * *

_Sorry this chapter was so short guys! Writing for Ranmaru is kind of hard for me, but we kind of getting to a point to where we can go into his past with Mallory._

_I loved the way i ended this chapter, I like the weird little brother/sister relationship I give between Reiji and Mallory, I think it's adorable. XD_

_But who knows, maybe it'll start to change?_

_Find out next time!_


	4. Odd Feelings and Finally Understanding

_Hey guys! Sorry I hadn't written a chapter in a while! I got sick for like four days, and then I recently went to a convention near my town in LA! It was so much fun and I was happy that i got some time off to write this chapter! i hope you all like it!_

_P.S.: If any of you are curious as to what Mallory looks like, I put a link to a picture of what she looks like in the story on my profile page! You can check it out any time you want!_

* * *

"I didn't think writing a song would be this hard..." Mallory trailed off, her feet swaying lightly underneath the chair she sat in, currently perplexed and puzzled by the process of writing a song. Being an idol was what she wanted to do, but she never knew that one of her tests would have to be writing a song.

"This is gonna be my first single to put out and there's already so much pressure!" Mallory exclaimed worriedly, pulling at her short hair lightly in panic. She huffed, dropping her pencil on the top of her desk as she slumped her arms on the desk, resting her head on her forearms as she sighed; she needed a break, being at this for over two hours and nothing had come to her. What was she supposed to write about anyways? "Maybe I should go ask Nanami-san, she usually has good advice-" Her train of thought however was cutoff when she heard a vibrating sound coming from her cell phone. She picked it up and saw a text message appear on her screen, reading it to herself, _"Mal-chan, come meet us outside of the dorms, you have an assignment~ Make sure to bring your sewing supplies with you as well; from Rei-chan." _Mallory gave a small laugh at the text message, Reiji had used little emoticons in his text message like always, showing off his goofy personality again. "Guess I get a break at least." Quickly getting to her feet, she grabbed her bag, stuffing it with her sewing supplies and cellphone, as well as her music sheets before heading out of her room. She quickly jogged as fast as she could to the front of the dorms, but as she turned a corner, knocked into someone, almost losing her balance.

"Ah, I'm so sorry!" Mallory exclaimed, making sure her bag was still with her as she quickly bowed in apology to whoever she had smacked into, but it quickly changed when she saw who it was.

"Watch where you're going next time; no wonder Ai says you need more practice in dancing, you can't even pay attention to what you're doing." A scowl appeared on Mallory's face as she straightened up, looking at the silver-haired man in front of her.

"I didn't mean to, Kurosaki-senpai." Mallory said back, an annoyed glare on her face as she looked at the man; the two had been at a stand still for the past few days, neither of them wanting to talk or be near each other due to the fact that it could lead to a fight like last time. "Why aren't you with the others at the front of the dorm?"

"Why do you care?" A frown came to Ranmaru's face as he looked down at the girl, before giving a scoff, which only made the girl angrier. "You better wipe that glare off your face, or your face will get stuck that way." He pushed past Mallory, hands in his pockets as the conversation finished for the time being, Mallory watching him leave with the scowl still on her face. She still didn't know what his attitude about her was.

* * *

"I'm here!" Mallory said, breathing a bit heavily as she made her way out of the dorms, seeing the other senpais waiting for her next to a car. Reiji gave a wave to Mallory, smiling, however Camus and Ai were giving calculating stares.

"You're late." Ai said to Mallory, his cyan eyes watching her as she gave an apologetic look, bowing lightly to her senpais.

"I-I didn't mean to, I'm sorry. I ran into Kurosaki-senpai...and it took a bit longer than I thought." Her brown eyes looked back into Ai's cyan colored ones, the two glancing back at each other for a few moments, before Ai looked away from Mallory's gaze.

"As long as it doesn't happen again." Mallory gave a small smile, nodding.

"It won't Mikaze-senpai, I promise!" Ai gave a small nod, his eyes looking towards the others, away from his student. Mallory then looked towards Reiji, taking out her phone.

"So, what is the assignment Rei-chan?" Mallory asked, using the nickname that Reiji told her to use. The brown-haired man gave a grin, patting the car next to him.

"We're going to the city for a photo shoot with our other students from STARISH! We got a call from the photographers there that some of the outfits that you made earlier got damaged on the way over, and that some of them need to be fixed. After you help us with that, we'll get to your lesson!" Mallory gave a small nod, before glancing back at the dorms.

"What about Kurosaki-senpai?" Reiji gave a frown, rubbing the back of his head nervously at the question.

"Kurosaki will not being accompanying us." Camus simply announced, looking back at Mallory. "Now if we do not wish to be late, we should be on our way now."

"Good idea Myu-chan! Let's get going, we don't want to keep our other students waiting!"

* * *

Mallory walked into the large studio, holding her supplies as she looked at all the set ups that had been put up, each one for their senpai and kouhais. "This shoot must be for the unit dramas that Saotome is making." Mallory muttered to herself, nearby seeing the clothes rack with the outfits she had designed.

"Ah, Nakagawa-san!" She stopped in her tracks, turning to see a familiar face as she gave a smile.

"Oh, you're...Ittoki-san, correct?" Mallory asked, seeing a red-haired male walking over to her. The boy gave a grin, nodding at her.

"Ittoki Otoya, Rei-chan talks a lot about you. It's great to finally meet you, congratulations by the way, for getting to be an idol." Mallory blushed lightly, laughing a bit as she gave a small bow to Otoya.

"Thank you Ittoki-san, though I'm no where as good as the group you're in; I've just started." She had barely just started, and she still had a long way to go, but she would do whatever it took. Otoya gave a smile, kind and encouraging.

"I'm sure you'll do great Nakagawa-san; I can't wait to hear your first song when it comes out!" Mallory gave a smile. "Thank you Ittoki-san; ah, but I have to get going actually with fixing some of these outfits."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to distract you!" Otoya said nervously, a light worried look appearing on his face. Mallory gave a small laugh, patting his shoulder lightly.

"No no it's ok, I just got here. I hope we can talk more sometime." She gave a small wave to the idol, Otoya giving a smile and a nod, waving back to her as he turned and left, going back to the area where the other STARISH members were. Mallory then turned back to the rack of clothes, seeing some of them; the only ones that seemed to be damaged were Ranmaru's and Ai's outfits, but they were easily fixable. She started off by working on Ai's, due to the fact that he was here, and that his shoot would be coming up in about half an hour.

"Mikaze-senpai, could you come over here please?" Mallory asked, seeing the cyan hair colored idol turn to her, before walking over quietly.

"What is it Nakagawa-san?" He asked, getting straight to the point as usual; she always noticed that he was rather blunt about things, never dodging questions or avoiding to answer when she had something to ask, but something that always interested her were his eyes. His eyes were the most beautiful color she had ever seen, but when she looked into Ai's eyes, his expressions were always so...lifeless. No vibrant emotion or anything, just a usual blank stare. It always intrigued her to no end, and she always wanted to ask him why he never really showed any emotion, but she didn't want to pry or seem rude, but still it nagged at her when the two talked or were working together.

"Nakagawa-san." Mallory jumped, holding the dark navy blue jacket in her hands, as she blinked at her teacher.

"Y-Yes Mikaze-senpai?" The boy looked at her, once again his expression emotionless, a blank stare looking back at her. "Are you distracted by something?" She stared for a few moments, shaking her head. "N-No, what makes you say that?"

"You were staring at me, for about 3 and a half minutes; it was odd." A flush of red came to Mallory's face, warmth enveloping her cheeks as she gripped the jacket in her hands a bit tightly, a nervous look on her face.

"A-Ah I'm sorry Mikaze-senpai, I didn't mean to stare at you, honest." She glanced back at her teacher for a few moments, "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable in any way." Ai simply watched the girl, his eyes never leaving her form as she looked back at him, butterflies fluttering in her chest; what was with her? "A-Anyway, I just needed you to put this on, so I can check on what needs to be fixed." She held up the jacket in her hands, before Ai took the jacket from her fingertips, her breath hitching in her throat lightly when his hand brushed against hers lightly.

"The left sleeve feels loose, I believe the seam at the shoulder came undone." Mallory blinked lightly before she gave a nod to Ai, taking the jacket delicately in her hands to not damage it anymore, before giving a smile.

"Thank you Mikaze-senpai; I'll fix it for you right away." Ai gave a nod to Mallory, glancing at her once more, his gaze calculating, observing. She simply blinked, giving another small smile; it was rather odd, but she was starting to get used to his stares, he simply said it was to read off of her, to get to know her better, but still his gaze made her nervous.

"Good." She watched him return to his students, Kurusu Syo and Shinomiya Natsuki, before she took out her supplies, getting to work.

* * *

"We're ready!" The cameraman exclaimed, getting the lighting and the camera set up for the shoot, as Mallory jogged over to Ai.

"Mikaze-senpai, I finished the adjustments." She handed the piece of clothing to her teacher, to which he took from her, before putting it on.

"It's better now." He simply said, folding his arms as he looked at his student, "Have you finished your song yet?" Mallory fiddled with her hands gently, looking down for a few moments.

"Not yet, but I will. I just need a bit more time for something to come to me." He gave a small noise of understanding.

"You better not take long, you have a deadline. I'll be wondering what exactly you'll come up with, considering the vocal lessons I did with you should have helped you improve a bit." Mallory gave a small nod, "Yeah, you're a pretty strict teacher Mikaze-senpai."

* * *

_"Do it again." Mallory gave a small huff, taking in breaths of air as she coughed a little, trying to get her voice recover._

_ "Mikaze-senpai I can't do that high of a note; we've been at this for over an hour." Mallory gave a small frown, looking at her senpai, who was sitting on the piano stool in front of her. Ai gave a small sigh as he took his fingers off of the keys of the piano, looking at Mallory._

_ "If you're going to simply give up, then you shouldn't be wasting my time." Mallory winced at her teachers words, looking back at Ai._

_ "I didn't mean it Mikaze-senpai. I just...I don't think I can do this note." Ai simply watched her, before settling his fingers back on the keys of the piano, playing the scales of a piano as he began slowly, singing each note. Mallory watched as Ai sang each note of the scale, going up each time until he made it to the note that she couldn't reach, executing it perfectly. He took his fingertips off the keys once more, slowly pushing the seat of the piano behind him so he could stand properly, before walking over to stand in front of Mallory._

_ "All it takes is practice, if I can do it, so can you." He stood behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder and one on her back as he helped her straiten her posture. "You must stand straight and tall when doing these scales," he then placed his right hand against her abdomen, "you also need to keep air inside the base of your abdomen. When you sing, you keep air trapped in your throat, making your voice give out." Mallory gave a small nod, her face flushing pink lightly as Ai straitened up to look at Mallory. "We're doing it again until you get it right." He sat back down on the piano stool, his fingers settling on the piano keys once more before he began to play each key, watching Mallory as she stood tall and sang, taking Ai's advice to heart. When Ai got to the last note, he pressed the key, watching Mallory with a calculating gaze as she hit the note perfectly, before he stopped playing. _

_ "I-I did it!" Mallory exclaimed, a look of surprise on her face, a grin coming to her lips as she leaned against the piano. "Thank you Ai! You're a genius!"_

_ "I only told you what basic idols know." Ai simply said to Mallory, glancing at her._

_ "Yeah, but you didn't give up on me! You kept telling me to do it and I did! You're a great teacher Ai!" Ai perked up lightly as he looked at Mallory, a look of slight surprise on his face._

_ "You called me Ai." Mallory blinked before she blushed, quickly apologizing._

_ "Ah! I meant Mikaze-senpai! Gomen, Gomen; I just got excited was all..." Mallory trailed off, her face a scarlet red color. "It's alright." Mallory heard this and turned to look at her teacher, "Really?"_

_ "Now we do it again." Mallory jumped lightly as she saw Ai get ready to play the scales again, giving a nod as she got began to practice once more._

_ "Right! I won't give up this time!"_

* * *

"It's to help you improve." Ai simply stated, looking at Mallory. "I know, I'm grateful for the lessons you gave me, they really helped." Ai looked away for a few moments, glancing away from his student. A look of something she couldn't describe was written on his face, but by the time he turned back he had his usual blank stare.

"It's simply what a teacher does for his students." Mallory gave a small nod, but glanced over when she heard the cameramen were ready for the shoot. "I think it's time for you to get going." Ai simply gave a nod, turning to leave before he looked back at Mallory with another one of his emotionless stares. "Nakagawa-san, from now on I want you to call me Mikaze-san when we're in public." Mallory blinked at the statement, a bit surprised.

"Huh? Why the sudden change?" She asked curiously, holding her clipboard in her arms lightly as she glanced at the cyan hair colored male.

"It's simply to address me correctly; there's no use in calling me Senpai when you're the one working for me in public." His cyan colored eyes stared back into her brown ones for a few moments, "Is that clear?" Mallory gave a nod, a smile coming to her lips.

"I understand, Mikaze-san. I'll address you as such when we're on jobs together from now on." Ai stared back at her for a few moments, before turning away from her.

"Good, I'll expect you to follow these directions."

* * *

"Shinomiya-san, please don't stand so close to me." Ai said as his students got ready for the shoot, all of them wearing their designed outfits for the Unit Drama CDs that were to be released next month.

"Ah, _gomen_ Mikaze-senpai, I'll stand over here. Is that alright?"

"It's better." Behind in the sidelines, Mallory held her clipboard in her hand, schedule residing in it as she couldn't tear her eyes away from the display in front of her. Doing a photo shoot seemed so easy for her senpai's and their students, she could tell that she already had a long way to go.

"I haven't even gotten into the variety show training yet..." Mallory trailed off, her thoughts wandering to other activities; what other training would she get to experience?

"Mal-chan!" Mallory jumped, her thoughts interrupted as she gave a small breath, her nerves heightened from the sudden jump scare she had when she heard someone call to her. She turned, seeing brown hair and grey eyes, and recognized the voice immediately.

"Rei-chan, don't scare me like that." Mallory sighed once more, her face blushing lightly from the small embarrassing moment.

"Ah _gomen, gomen_; you were just staring off into space, I just wanted to make sure you were ok." Mallory blinked again; she was staring off into space again? That wasn't good; she would have to fix that once she got back to her dorm. Getting distracted wasn't the best thing for her especially with her job.

"Well thank you Rei-chan, but I'm fine. I was just thinking is all." Her attention turned back to Ai and his students as the photographer took the photos, the camera flashing every few moments as Reiji watched.

"Ai-Ai's really good at photo shoots isn't he?" Reiji asked, watching the photo shoot. Mallory turned to watch, but once again, could only see Ai's rather blank expression.

"I guess." She continued to watch, before the she turned to her other senpai. "Reiji, why does Mikaze-senpai never really show any emotion? The entire month and a half I've been here, I haven't seen him laugh, or even give a hint of a smile. Is he always that serious?" Reiji gave a small sound of confusion, before giving a small laugh.

"Ai-Ai can be rather serious all the time, it's just the way he is. I've only seen him smile a few times, but it was just for photo shoots like this, and for publicity." Mallory looked at Reiji, before glancing back at Ai, watching him. "Oh, by the way, after this shoot is done we'll be getting to your next lesson!" Mallory turned to look back at Reiji, holding her schedule in her hands.

"What is it this time? Another vocal lesson? Or a dance lesson?" Mallory asked, generally curious. She would usually get a notice or something from one of her senpai's about what her lesson would be, but she wasn't told anything as of yet. Reiji gave a smirk, patting Mallory on the head, messing up her hair slightly as he did so.

"You'll just have to wait dear Mal-chan." Mallory gave a small moan of complaint as she had to fix her hair, her face dusted pink lightly; Reiji always like to tease her when he had the chance. "How's your song coming by the way?" Mallory glanced back at Reiji once she fixed her hair, shuffling her feet lightly against the floor.

"Uh, it's ok...I guess. I haven't really written anything yet cause nothing's really come to mind, but I'll figure something out." Reiji gave a small smile, looking down at his student.

"I'm sure you will, just stay calm and you'll get through it. Even if this is a test, you shouldn't rush through it like Myu-chan said. I'm sure whatever you write will be great, and I'll be there to help if you get stuck!" He gave a grin back to Mallory as she gave a small smile, nodding.

"Thanks Rei-chan, I'll ask for help if I need it in the future."

"Kotobuki, it's time for Nakagawa-san's lesson." The two turned to see Camus walk by, wearing his outfit from his Unit Drama CD. Mallory almost couldn't tell who he was; he was wearing a long white sleeved shirt covered by a long-sleeved dark jacket, with the collar of his white shirt being tied by a white and black striped ribbon. His hair was different as well, usually flowing on his shoulders, it was now pulled back into a long ponytail, and he was wearing a pair of black framed glasses.

"Woah, Myu-chan I almost didn't recognize you!" Reiji said with a grin, Camus simply giving a small sigh. "You really know your stuff about clothes Mal-chan." Mallory blushed lightly, scratching her head in nervousness.

"I'm not that good, but Rei-chan is right Camus-senpai, you do look really good in those clothes."

"Thank you Nakagawa-san, but now it is time for your next lesson." He turned to see that the photo shoot for Ai, Syo and Natsuki had finished, and the backdrop had been changed to a plain white sheet, leaving a blank background. "Have you heard of the idol magazine Idol Start?" Mallory looked at Camus, nodding lightly.

"It's a magazine that displays the next idols that are debuting; my sister had an article about her in it, and I heard that STARISH got an article as well." Mallory then gave a confused look, "Why are you asking me about it though?"

"Cause you're gonna be in it Mal-chan!" Reiji said with a grin, wrapping an arm around Mallory's shoulders, "It'll be great! It's your first step to debuting!" Mallory was speechless, her face agape as she heard the news; she was going to be in a magazine? "Come on, it's your turn!"

"W-Wait, you mean now?" Mallory stuttered out, feeling Reiji lead her towards the backdrop area, where the cameras and lights were set up. "I-I don't know if I can do it now. I mean, am I wearing the right clothes, do I have to change or anything?" She wondered due to her rather plain choice of clothing; a regular green tank top hidden under a pair of short overalls and a pair of plain black converse shoes. It didn't exactly look like an outfit fit for a photo shoot, much less a magazine.

"You'll be fine, all you have to do is take a few pictures and that's it, piece of cake!" Reiji said with a grin, leading Mallory right towards the marker where she was supposed to stand. "You'll do fine Mal-chan." Reiji then gave a thumbs up to the camera man, before he made his way off the set to stand in the background, hands in his pockets as he gave one of his goofy grins to Mallory for support and comfort, but she still felt nervous regardless of the small pep talk. She turned to look at the camera, her body going stiff as she swallowed lightly, eyes on her. She still had some issues with having attention put on her, her nerves coming back every time something like this happened.

"Just start off by doing poses you're comfortable with." The cameraman told to Mallory, the idol in training jumping lightly when she was addressed.

"Uh, right." Mallory muttered, giving a nervous look as she shuffled on her feet lightly, trying to figure out what exactly she was going to do. She looked at the cameraman uncomfortably, before hesitantly starting.

* * *

"She's nervous." Ai observed, arms folded against his chest as he watched Mallory begin posing, though they looked rather plain, and not full of energy.

"She needs to learn that idols have to be diligent when it comes to these things. Being nervous all the time will get her no where." Camus muttered as well, glancing every so often to watch and give his opinion.

"Mal-chan's still new at all this you guys; she'll get the hang of it." Reiji said, though he gave a small frown as he watched his student give awkward poses; she was rather stiff, and not letting her poses move naturally. "Maybe someone should help-hmm? Ai-Ai, where are you going?"

* * *

Mallory gave another odd pose, trying to give a natural look, but once again looking rather stiff.

"Maybe we should take a small break." The cameraman said as he gave a sigh, hoping that it would help with the photos, as well as with her. She gave a small huff, looking down as she rubbed her arm nervously; she was ashamed, and embarrassed. She couldn't get down just doing poses for photos because nerves got to her? How stupid was that? She gave a sigh, when she looked up to see Ai, his expression blank, yet stern.

"You're giving bad results." He said simply, walking to stand in front of Mallory. "Being nervous isn't going to help you."

"I-I know," Mallory muttered, looking down slightly, "It's just everyone is looking at me, watching me. It just makes me self-conscious is all."

"Being self-conscious is normal, but it shouldn't stop you from doing your job." Mallory winced slightly at her teachers words, giving a nod. She fiddled with her hands for a few moments, before she looked back at her teacher.

"I know, it won't happen again." Mallory muttered, Ai watching her. She heard him give a small sigh, before she noticed that the camera man had returned. "Are you ready?" Mallory gave a few stutters, before she noticed Ai pulling her along to the marker that they had set, with him next to her.

"Mikaze-senpai?" She questioned, noticing that he wasn't returning to his spot with the other seniors. He simply stood next to her, before he took her right hand in his left, while his left arm slowly snaked around her waist, the two in rather close contact. Mallory's face lit up a bright red, almost at a loss for words. "M-Mikaze-senpai?"

"Follow my lead." He muttered, his cyan colored eyes gazing back into her brown ones as she swallowed lightly, before giving a light nod.

"A-Alright." She muttered back, her voice almost at a whisper from the close contact the two shared. The camera began to snap photos, the lights flashing as the two began to take photos together, Mallory's nerves slowly melting away with each passing minute. Her heart raced every single moment she had with Ai, noticing the lavender scent that came from the male next to her, the aroma almost intoxicating to her. It fit him oddly, as she smiled each time the two took a photo, her nervousness and worries withering away as she continued to take in the soft scent. It calmed her weirdly enough, to a point that she didn't even notice when Ai had left the back drop, now taking pictures on her own, with no worries whatsoever of other people watching her. She glanced back at where her teachers were, and her eyes widened lightly; it must have been the flash of the camera, but she could have sworn she saw Ai smile, even if only for a moment.

* * *

"Good idea to take some pictures with her Ai-Ai, she's doing a lot better now!" Reiji said with a grin to his fellow idol, watching Mallory give better poses, looking more relaxed than ever.

"It was a simple solution; she just needed someone to help her calm her nerves. She should do better now." Ai muttered, wiping off some dust from his jacket as she watched Mallory as well; she was improving, but she could do better. He would have to write improvements for her to look over and access. As he watched her however, his thoughts went back to a few moments before, remembering the close contact the two shared. He felt something rather odd when he was helping her, a feeling in his chest, the same he felt before back when the two had first met in the piano room. The same odd feeling when he was close to her, the strangely numbing sensation he felt when he smelled the aroma of her perfume; vanilla, he remembered, the scent fresh in his mind from when he had caught her before. What was this he was feeling? His hands clung to his jackets sleeves tightly as his arms were wrapped around him lightly, as he continued to watch his student from afar.

* * *

"Glad that's finally over." Mallory sighed as the camera crew began to clean up, putting away the equipment as she walked over to wards the back area, seeing Reiji nearby.

"Mal-chan, you did great! I knew you could do it!" Mallory gave a small laugh, her face blushing a light pink as she looked around, a confused look on her face.

"Where'd Mikaze-senpai and Camus-senpai go?"

"They had to go back to the dorms early for another assignment with their students from STARISH." Reiji gave a small grin, hands on his hips. "Since it's just you and me, why don't we head out and go celebrate for completing your next lesson?" Mallory perked up lightly, looking at Reiji with a nervous look as she gave a panicked shake of her head.

"You don't have to do that Kotobuki-senpai, I'm here to serve you, not the other way around!" Reiji only gave a hearty laugh to her reaction, wrapping his arm around her neck as he grinned.

"Come on Mal-chan, it's just a small celebration; do it for me, please?" Mallory gave a small moan of uncertainty, but couldn't say no when her senpai gave his rather infamous pout; it always got her.

"A-Alright we can celebrate." She gave a small smile when she saw Reiji cheer, before she was led off by her senpai out of the studio, her bag and other belongings coming along with her. "K-Kotobuki-senpai don't run so fast!"

* * *

"I heard you liked sweets, so I found this place when I was on a job last week." Reiji said with a grin as the two sat at a small café, sitting outside. Mallory gave a small smile, but her face was a small hint of red; she wasn't used to being alone with guys. Even if this was her teacher, it felt rather strange to be alone with him in public; she didn't want people to get the wrong idea or anything.

"Mal-chan you're face is all red." Mallory looked back at Reiji, as she gave a nervous laugh.

"I-it's nothing, just the weather or something!" Reiji gave a small laugh, grinning slightly as he settled ini his chair

"It couldn't be because you and I are alone together, is it?" Mallory's face only blushed harder as Reiji gave a laugh, "you got redder, that's so cute!" Mallory gave a small annoyed huff, watching her senpai tease her, it was always his way of showing her cared, by teasing her to no end. "H-Hey don't give me that annoyed look. You and Ran-Ran have the same glare when you get annoyed with me, it hurts my feelings." Mallory stopped as she looked at Reiji, giving an incredulous look.

"Kurosaki-senpai and I have the same look?" She asked, not really believing the statement; the two annoyed each other to no end, and never got along. She gave a small sigh, looking at Reiji. "Actually, I had a question about him."

"Hm, you mean Ran-Ran?" Reiji asked, noticing a waitress come by and leaving them a small tray of assorted pastries that they had ordered. "What did you want to ask?" Mallory fiddled with her fingers lightly, looking at Reiji with a nervous glance.

"When I asked you before why Kurosaki-senpai wouldn't teach me, you told me that he had secrets that he wanted to keep to himself." Reiji gave a small frown, his normal cheerful mood changing to his rare mature side. He folded his arms across his chest, thinking to himself.

"You want to know about Ran-Ran's past and why he doesn't trust you." He said it more as a statement then a question, nodding in understanding. "You know even if I tell you about his past, he may still not want to talk to you."

"But at least it would be a start somewhat." Mallory muttered, looking at Reiji with a determined look. "I just want to understand why he won't teach me, I at least have the right to know, rather than be in the dark about things." Reiji gave a small nod, giving a heavy sigh before he settled into his seat, leaning his arms against the table they sat at. He looked back at Mallory with a serious look, before he took a breath.

"Before Ran-Ran was in Quartet Night, he was in a rock band with a group of friends he knew. They were really good, and were popular all around Japan, especially in Tokyo." He placed a few pastries on to a small plate in front of him, glancing down at the water that he had gotten. "They promised to stay friends forever and be in the group, saying that nothing would get in the way of their playing or their friendship. However a few years after their latest tour, one of Ran-Ran's band mates got a girlfriend." Mallory simply listened intently, staring at Reiji, not saying a word. "She would go with them on all the tours and watch them play. It was a normal setup until she started to sleep around with some of he other band mates, going behind people's backs and causing fights within the group. She caused so much trouble that the band had to end up breaking up, which caused Ran-Ran to get bitter. He joined Saotome Agency and later met us, and we became Quartet Night." Reiji gave a sigh, sitting back in his chair, his grey eyes softening at his student. "Ran-Ran doesn't want to teach you because he thinks it'll happen all over again, but this time with Quartet Night."

"But I would never do something like that." Mallory said with a shake of her head, giving a worried look to her teacher. Reiji gave a small chuckle, his usual smile returning as he looked at Mallory.

"I know you wouldn't Mal-chan, you're not that type of girl to go and do that." Reiji gave a soft smile as he looked at the food in front of him, a soft gaze lingering in his eyes. "It's actually rather comforting to see Ran-Ran be all paranoid about this." Mallory gave a confused look, "Why is that?" Reiji gave another chuckle, straightening in his chair. "Ran-Ran is always so serious and has an attitude, but he's worried that you'll break up the group. He usually tells me that he doesn't care about the group and that he likes working alone...but I can tell he actually cares about the group. He has fun with us, even if he doesn't want to admit it." Mallory stayed silent as she listened, before she gave a small smile, nodding.

"I guess that is good-"

"Nakagawa-san?"

"Mallory?" Mallory was cut off when she heard to female voices, both familiar to her as she turned in her seat to see Haruka and Tomochika. "Nanami-san? Tomo-chan? What are you guys doing here?"

"We were gonna ask you the same thing." Tomochika said surprised, stopping to glance at Reiji for a few moments before her eyes went wide. "Wait, don't tell me you're on a date, are you?!" Haruka gave a surprised gasp as well, looking at the blushing girl.

"Nakagawa-san, I didn't know you and Kotobuki-san were dating!" Mallory's face turned a thousand shades of red as she heard the girls comments, almost falling out of her chair from the pure shock.

"N-No of course not, it's not like that!" Her face couldn't have been any redder, and she was sure she had never felt this embarrassed in all her life.

"Oh yeah, then how come your face is red? Come on, you don't have to hide it from me~" Tomochika teased, her lips holding a smirk as Mallory blushed even redder, a glare starting to come to her face. "Come on Haruka, let's leave the two alone before we ruin their moment!"

"W-Wait, Tomochika!" The two girls had left before Mallory could confront them any longer on the matter, before she turned back in her chair, face as red as it could be. She was sure she would never live this down, and Reiji had been there for the whole thing. "I'm sorry Kotobuki-senpai, Tomochika just likes to tease me like that is all..." She glance up at him when she heard him give a rather cheerful laugh, a grin on his face as he looked back at her.

"It's ok, it was kind of funny actually." Mallory glanced away from her teacher, giving a sigh; she would have to get back at her friend later for pulling that stunt. "But you know, you hurt my feelings a bit." Mallory's embarrassed look faded when she heard this, a questioning look appearing on her face.

"I did?" She asked, wondering what she had done. Reiji simply gave a small chuckle, resting his chin against the palm of his hand as he watched his student, a look in his eye that Mallory honestly couldn't describe as a smile graced his lips.

"Of course you did. I thought this was a date, Mal-chan." Her face blushed once more, a look of shock now appearing on her face as she stared incredulously at her teacher.

"W-What?" She stuttered out, startled by the statement. Before she could ask anything else, a heartfelt laugh came from her teacher as he wiped a few tears away from his eyes, a teasing grin on his face.

"I was only joking Mal-chan." Her look of shock turned to one of embarrassment once more, giving a small sigh as she stared at Reiji.

"Kotobuki-senpai, not you too..." Mallory trailed off, giving a sigh once more; she was going to be teased by her friend, and now her teacher? She was going to have her hands full. However she gave a small smile as she watched her teacher laugh; despite playing tricks on her and teasing her, she knew that he cared. He worried about her and always wanted to help her, and even Ai had helped her today as well, She knew she could count on her teachers, and just knowing that they were there for her was all she needed.

* * *

"It's finally done." Mallory muttered to herself with a smile, setting down her lyrics sheets; after a few hours of thinking and brainstorming, she had finished her single. All she had to do was write a composition and record it, and she would be on her way. As she set her pencil down, she thought for a few moments, remembering the talk that she and Reiji has about Ranmaru. She knew why he didn't want to teach her, and why he had a bias towards her, but she hadn't confronted him yet on the subject. Now that she knew, she understood why he was so hesitant with wanting to teach her. If something as terrible had happened to her, she wouldn't want to teach someone that reminded them of a terrible memory. Even so, he was her teacher, and he couldn't just ignore her forever.

"Maybe it's time I actually try to talk to him" She said to herself, her legs swaying lightly under the chair she sat in. With a small sigh, she got her nerves together and got to her feet, stepping out of her room as she walked down the halls, making her way down to the boys dorms. She gave a breath, coming closer and closer until she made it to the room, noticing Ranmaru's name on a plaque next to the door she stood in front of. With a hesitant look, she knocked on the door, hearing slightly shuffling before the door opened to show grey and purple eyes.

"It's you, what do you want?" Ranmaru asked, obvious hints of annoyance in his voice as he glanced at Mallory. Mallory gave a small glare, before it changed to a look of determination, which Ranmaru noticed, his eyes narrowing lightly.

"I know about what happened." His eyes glared down at her, intense emotions passing through his entire being. Memories he never wanted to remember were flooding back to him, and it pissed him off to no end. How did this girl know about his past? His hand tightened on the door handle, gripping it tightly as the two glared back at each other, silent.

* * *

_There's the chapter! I wrote the end on a bit of a cliffhanger for the heck of it, so I can get my readers excited for the next chapter that'll be coming up! What do you guys think will happen next? Will Ranmaru and Mallory get into an even more heated argument? Or will the two finally start getting along? __Find out when the next chapter comes out!_ Please read and review, I love being reviewed and I always love knowing what you guys think! Till next time! 


	5. Apology Accepted

Hello guys! Welcome to my story and its next chapter! It has lots of Ranmaru in it and I hope you guys like it!

* * *

"Jinguji, Hijirikawa, get out." Ranmaru's voice was commanding and serious, his eyes never leaving the sight of the girl in front of him, narrowed and stern. His hand still grasped the doorknob tightly, so much that it felt that even the slightest movement would rip it off the door. Mallory was silent, her determined look still in her brown eyes, watching Ranmaru. She noticed as two men walked out of the room, Masato Hijirikawa and Ren Jinguji; Ranmaru's other students. Their faces held slight confusion and interest, but they stayed silent, noticing the stand still between the two at the door. They simply walked down the hall, both giving side glances, before Ranmaru gave a growl towards the girl, bringing her back to her senses. "Get in." It wasn't a request, Mallory noticed; it was a demand. With a hesitant look, but still holding her glare, she walked into the room slowly, taking in the decor. Ranmaru's side of the room was filled with his personal belongings, his guitar, and a bed; she remembered that their students and their teachers had to share rooms. However, before she could process anything else, she heard the door slam behind her, hearing a clicking sound come from the door knob; he had locked the door. She took a small breath, feeling a small amount of uncertainty crawling up through her, but she came here to face Ranmaru; she couldn't just back out now.

"I-I know about what happened, between your group...I mean." Mallory started, looking back at Ranmaru, her voice faltering lightly at the end of her sentence. She noticed he was simply silent, hand still clenching the doorknob tightly. She swallowed lightly when she saw him slowly let go of the doorknob, letting his hand drop to his side, before he slowly began to advance towards Mallory, shoes shuffling against the floor, his heterochromatic eyes leering down at her, cold and stern.

"Who told you?" He asked, his voice low as he stopped walking, only a few inches away from the girl.

"W-What?" She asked, looking back at Ranmaru, feeling her skin start to get goosebumps; his voice was low, his look was terrifying and nerve-wracking.

"I said who told you?!" He yelled out loudly, his voice holding anger, obvious with not keeping his temper in check now. Mallory jumped at the loud exclamation, looking down for a few moments. "Don't look away from me." He said sternly, his body towering over her, looking down at her with a glare. Mallory swallowed again, before looking back at Ranmaru.

"I-It was Kotobuki-senpai," She saw his hand clench tightly, rage filling through him, "but only because I asked him, it's not his fault!"

"He shouldn't have told you!" Ranmaru exclaimed back to Mallory, glaring down at the girl; Reiji would get a talking to once he was done with this girl.

"Why? Whatever you're feeling against me is only because you still hate what happened back in the past! I would never do that, to you or to Quartet Night!"

"How can I be sure; women like to lie!" Ranmaru yelled down at the girl, turning away from her to give out a breath of air, trying to quell his anger and not break something in his rampage. Mallory gave a glare back to Ranmaru, walking a few steps towards him.

"I'm not like that woman!" Mallory hollered at Ranmaru, her teeth clenching tightly. "You...You think I'm gonna be like her, and break up another group of yours? Are you that blind by your hate from what happened?!" She could tell that she would still be on bad terms with Ranmaru, especially with what she was saying to him; he would surely tell Saotome of this, but she had to get it off her chest. "I came her to be an idol, to be taught by your group and let my dream become a reality!" She held a hand to her chest, trying to get her breathing to steady as she continued. "You think I would give that all up, just to sleep around with your group, and tear you guys apart?! If you think that, then you're even more ignorant then I thought you were." She set her hand back to her side, silent as she caught her breath, noticing after her speech that she had been breathing rather heavily. She gave a sigh, walking past Ranmaru as she made it to the door, hand lightly grasping the doorknob, as she unlocked the door. However, before she left, she gave a small glance to the side, before she spoke. "You think that I would want to break up your group, but you're wrong." She looked down at her hand that grasped the doorknob, and noticed it was shaking.

"I think your group is amazing, they way you all work together and harmonize is something I've never seen before," She swallowed lightly, her throat dry, "I have nothing but the utmost respect for your group, and all its members...you included, Kurosaki-senpai. So don't say that all women are mean, or conniving, or are liars; because not all of them are, myself included." A few moments passed after she spoke, the air silent, as she gave a small sigh. As she was about to turn the doorknob, she heard footsteps walking towards her. She turned to see Ranmaru walking towards her, his hair in front of his eyes, unable to read his expression. His hands suddenly shot out at her, Mallory jumping as she clenched her eyes shut, her hands coming close to her body in surprise, however nothing came. She slowed her breath, noticing she was breathing heavily once again from the scare, opening her eyes to see that Ranmaru's hands had slammed against the door behind her, almost clawing at the door. His face was a few inches away from hers, so close she could feel his breath against her lips, as she glanced to see his expression; the glare was still clear on his face, but the previous rage that he felt had quelled slightly.

"You respect me, huh?" He asked lowly, so low that only the two of them could hear. Mallory's body shook from the question, looking up at Ranmaru's grey and purple eye as she slowly nodded, no words coming from her lips. Ranmaru's glare never left his face as he gave a growl, his hands clawing at the door, some of the wood chipping off lightly from the force of Ranmaru's anger. His right hand came off the door as he slowly took Mallory's chin between his fingertips, making her look in his eyes once more, still glaring, before he tilted her head slightly to press his lips against her ear. Her heart raced a million beats per minute, trying to calm her heart down, as well as her breathing; they were so close, his lips against her ear as she could feel his breath, his face so close to hers. All she could hear around them was his breathing, and her heart beating so loudly in her chest, she felt as if it would burst out. It stayed like this, for almost two minutes, before Ranmaru finally spoke.

"If you respect me so much, then you should have the decency to not pry in other people's business." He whispered lowly into her ear, his breath against her skin making her shiver uncontrollably. He shifted himself so his body came closer to hers, so close it was as if they would meld together, towering over her, pressing her against the door.

"If you want to stay on my good side, don't go digging into my past. Ever. Again." He whispered the last part harshly, disdain clear in his voice as pushed away from Mallory suddenly, yanking her by the wrist forcefully as he opened the door, before shoving her out the door. She stumbled on her feet, but caught herself as she watched Ranmaru glare at her one more time, before slamming the door in her face. She stood there, short brown hair disheveled, breathing heavily, heart beating a mile per minute; she had no words for what had happened. She took a few moments to catch her breath, before she began to walk back to her room, hands held around her body instinctively to calm herself. She was so preoccupied with getting back to her room, that she didn't notice the pair of eyes watching her from behind.

* * *

When she had managed to shuffle her way back to her room, she stopped in front of her door, eyes widened slightly as her vision began to become blurry. She gasped lightly, taking a hand to her cheek as she felt something wet fall against it; tears. She had been so shocked by the way Ranmaru had acted, that she hadn't noticed that she had cried for the last few minutes. She tried to wipe her tears, but they kept falling as she tried to wipe her eyes.

"Nakagawa-san." She turned suddenly, gasping lightly when she saw cyan colored eyes staring back into her tear-stained brown ones.

"M-Mikaze-senpai!" Mallory breathed out, sniffling lightly as she tried to wipe her tears as fast as possible with her hands, hoping not embarrass herself any further then she already had. "I'm sorry, I must have been really loud..."

"Why are you crying?" He asked this rather bluntly, but he was curious, wondering why his student was in tears. Mallory was silent for a few moments, before giving a small laugh, a fake smile coming to her lips, though the tears still flowed down her cheeks, the sight rather heart breaking.

"I was just talking to Kurosaki-senpai is all; I know about his past and I went to confront him about it. I-It didn't really turn out well and he ended up yelling at me, but it's fine! It was my fault anyways..." Even as she said this, trying to brush the incident aside as if it was nothing, she still hurt every time she thought about it.

"Blaming things on yourself solves nothing." Ai said back to Mallory, watching his student try to blame herself for what happened. In truth, he had heard yelling coming from Ranmaru's room and went to investigate, but by the time he had gotten there, Mallory had already been walking back to her room, crying. "It was brave of you to face Kurosaki-san, though the chances of you getting through to him were below thirty percent." Mallory gave a small frown, still trying to wipe the tears from her eyes, in front of her teacher no less.

"T-Thanks, I guess." She sniffled lightly again, before she felt a hand push her hands away from her face, before feeling a cloth be put into her hands. She glanced up to see Ai handing her a handkerchief, as she gave a small nod. "Thank you." She muttered, before wiping away the rest of her tears, giving a small sigh once she had finished. She gave a small sigh, holding the handkerchief in her hands softly as she glanced up at Ai. "Uh...thank you again, Mikaze-senpai." She gave a small bow to her teacher, her face beginning to heat up, embarrassed beyond belief.

"Don't you have a meeting to get to?" He asked, watching his student. Mallory stood up straight, gasping lightly as she gave a look of worry.

"Oh, you're right." Mallory wiped away any tears that were still on her face, before giving a small smile to her teacher. "Thank you again Mikaze-senpai; it...means a lot that you talked to me." She gave another small bow before she went inside her room to get her things ready, leaving Ai alone. Ai simply stared at the spot Mallory was previously in, a blank stare on his face as he turned and began to walk away, a thought coming to his mind. Why did he feel a strange pain in his chest when he saw her with tears in her eyes? She had simply been crying, but when he saw her trying to blame herself for the situation, it had left an awful taste in his mouth. Why was he feeling this way? She's just his student, nothing more.

* * *

_"I'm just trying to understand why Nakagawa-san is so determined, despite the lack of training she has. Her chances of succeeding are rather low." Reiji gave a noise of understanding, thinking for a few moments._

_"Well, even though she doesn't have a lot of experience, that's where we come in. We're here to help her meet her goal, and you saw how determined she was. When someone has a dream they've wanted for so long, they'll do whatever it takes to make it come true!" _

_ "You'll warm up to her when you see her train, and then maybe your opinion will change!"_

* * *

Ai stopped walking when he remembered what Reiji had said to him half a month ago, the hall silent in his wake as the scene played back in his mind. Was this what he was feeling? Was he, as Reiji put it, 'warming up to her', was he starting to get used to her company? He had never really thought much of his other students before, mostly because they never made it passed most of his training before they decided to quit, but Mallory had kept going, never backing down and continued to test her ability. She did as she was told, doing tasks that he assigned her or doing something for him if he asked without any complaint, a smile gracing her lips every time he saw her.

"I don't understand." Ai muttered to himself lowly, a look of perplexed confusion evident in his eyes. He continue to walk after that, going back to his room; he needed to process this information immediately.

* * *

The meeting went rather slow for Mallory, or maybe it just felt that way considering the way she was feeling. It felt as if time was deliberately halting for her, melding with her crushed emotions, wanting her to just sleep and never wake up. She walked out of the meeting room, shoulder bag in hand as she made her way, before she noticed a familiar figure in the hallway she was now in.

"Nanami-san?" Mallory questioned, seeing the familiar sight of red hair and golden eyes, as the girl turned, a look of astonishment on her face.

"Mallory-san! I didn't know you'd be here." She smiled at the girl, holding a few stacks of papers in her hands, though her smile faded when she noticed her friends face. "Are you alright Mallory-san? Your cheeks are kind of red, are you sick?" Mallory muttered a small swear under her breath; her face was still red from when she had cried, she thought she had fixed it by now.

"Uh, yeah I'm ok. I'm just a little flustered is all from running around today; it's nothing to worry about, honest." It was the best lie she could come up with on the spot; she didn't want to worry Haruka about her own problems.

"Oh, well that's good. I'm about to make my way back to the dorms; you wanna come with me?" Mallory gave a nod, rather having a friend walk with her then having to walk by herself, and remember everything that had happened so far with Ranmaru.

"Yeah, I'd appreciate it Nanami-san." Mallory said, a small smile coming to her face, to make herself feel better, but she knew it wouldn't. The two girls began to walk out of the hallway, taking the elevator as they simply talked about different things, Haruka about her composing, and Mallory about her current designs for both Quartet Night and STARISH.

"Oh, I heard that you finished recording your first single, congratulations!" Mallory gave a small laugh, a slight blush on her face.

"Thank you Nanami-san, I was a bit nervous when I was recording, I even messed up a few times," the two walked out of the elevator, "but I'm proud of myself. I finally got my first song, and I wrote it all on my own. I don't know what's next, but I hope it'll help me with more of my training." The two laughed as they talked as they walked out of the building, both of them suddenly yelping when they felt water pour down on them. "R-Rain?!" The forecast that same morning had never said anything about rain; it was as if it came out of nowhere.

"Let's get under something!" Haruka quickly said, Mallory agreeing as the two girls ran to find cover, finding solace once they found an abandoned bus stop with a small awning to cover them. "Where'd this rain come from?"

"I don't know, but I hate it." Mallory gave a sigh, her hair and her clothes positively soaked. She shivered, feeling a cold air pass by, both girls giving weary smiles to each other. "We should probably call a cab or something if we want to get back home."

"Good idea." Haruka said, seeing a cab nearby as she called for it, seeing it drive to the curb as the two quickly hurried in, before the cab drove off towards Saotome Academy.

* * *

"Good thing we found a cab so quickly." Mallory said with a laugh, the two running towards the Master Course dorms before opening the door quickly, closing them shut as they both gave laughs. They were both soaking wet, water dripping from their hair and clothes, but they had fun.

"I'm gonna go change real quick Mallory-san. I'll come by after." Mallory gave a nod and waved good-bye to Haruka, watching her run to her room to change. She gave a small sigh, a smile on her face; she had had such a good talk with Haruka, that she had forgotten about what had bothered her. It inched back into her mind however when the dorm had come into view when they were in the cab, and a feeling of uncertainty came into her chest. She walked to the kitchen, wanting something warm to drink, but stopped when she heard a commotion coming from another room. She walked down the next hallway, seeing the door to the room be covered by a group of men; STARISH.

"Hey, what's going on?" Mallory asked, confused by the men crowding around the door. They all turned, some of them looking nervous, while some gave unsure looks.

"Kurosaki-senpai is fighting with Rei-chan." Otoya said back to Mallory, a frown on his face.

"He's been at it for the past hour now." Another one of the members mentioned, Ichinose Tokiya. "We were all waiting because we were going to be practicing a dance routine for an upcoming concert, but when they didn't show up, we went to investigate." Mallory looked at the men, then slowly pushed past all of them, apologizing as she did so for getting some of them wet from her clothes, before she opened the doors, the sound of harsh yelling reverberating into her ears.

"Now Ran-Ran, be reasonable. Mal-chan just wanted to know why you wouldn't teach her is all." Reiji said back to Ranmaru, trying to calm his friend down as best as possible. Ranmaru was currently on his feet, glaring at Reiji who was on his feet as well, Mallory noticing that he had taken a step back from Ranmaru and his glare. A chair was left on the ground as if someone had pushed it, and a cup of tea had spilled on the wooden table that they group had been at. Camus and Ai were next to the two, taking in the scene, wanting to stop the fight, but weren't quite sure how without causing more trouble.

"Reasonable? She had no business knowing about my past, and you just blab it to her like it's no big deal?!" Ranmaru hollered out at Reiji, his hands in tight fists, shaking from his rage.

"She did if it meant you not ever teaching her, Kurosaki." Camus said to Ranmaru, a hardened stare at the man; he was acting childish, even if his past had been told to their student, did it matter?

"Quiet!" Ranmaru yelled back at Camus, glaring back at the man as he gave a snarl, turning when he saw Mallory running into the room. "Now you're here?" He gave an angered scoff, glaring at the girl.

"It's not Kotobuki-senpai's fault!" Mallory yelled at Ranmaru, a glare on her face as she ran over to the scene, standing in front of Camus and Ai, looking at Ranmaru. "I asked him, and he told me; none of this is his fault, so don't blame him for my mistake!"

"He didn't have to tell you! I told him to keep his mouth shut about it, but he told you anyways! That just gets me pissed off!" Ranmaru gave a glare back to Reiji, shooting a hand towards the brown-haired male as he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him forward as the brown-haired male stumbled in surprise.

"R-Ran-Ran!" Reiji yelped, surprised by the sudden act, and honestly, a little scared. Ranmaru got scary when he got angry, and when it was directed at him, he was always a bit afraid it would turn out ugly. Camus and Ai saw this, surprised by their team mates sudden action, as they tried to step in, but Mallory got their first.

"Leave Reiji alone!" Mallory yelled at Ranmaru, stepping in between Ranmaru and Reiji as she pushed with all her strength against Ranmaru, hitting his hand off of Reiji's shirt as she pushed the silver-haired male away from her other teacher; it wasn't much, but Reiji was free, and breathing a bit heavily from the sudden action. However it didn't last for long, as Mallory's strength wasn't enough, for Ranmaru had only stumbled from the push. He gave an enraged glared at Mallory as he grabbed her by her wrist, Mallory struggling lightly to have her hand back, but Ranmaru wouldn't budge.

"You stay out of this!" Ranmaru yelled at Mallory once more, before he used his strength to throw her off to the side, but in his fit of rage, he didn't notice that he threw her to his right side, where the table was set. She tried to catch herself, but her lower back crashed against the wooden table harshly as she yelped in pain, the table falling on to its side with the contents on the table falling towards the ground, spilling tea all over the carpet., with the tea cups and pots settling onto the carpet as well. Mallory had fallen to the ground when the table had fallen, her clothes stained with tea, and her lower back stinging in pain.

"Mal-chan!" Reiji ran over to Mallory's aid after he saw what had happened, with Ai and Camus doing the same, as Ranmaru simply stood where he was, taking in the scene. His look of rage was gone, and a look of realization had come to his eyes; sure, he wasn't exactly thrilled with teaching a girl, and her attitude towards him was less to be desired, but he didn't mean to hurt her, even if he was angry at her. Ranmaru gave a glare, and huffed before he turned and walked out of the room, pushing past the STARISH members; he needed time to think to himself.

"Can you stand?" Camus asked, taking one of Mallory's hands in his as Reiji took the other, the two delicately helping their student to her feet as she gave a small nod. She stumbled lightly, but regained her balance as she winced lightly; there would probably be a bruise where her lower back was soon.

"...Thank you." Mallory said lowly, her eyes downcast as she looked at the fallen table and chairs, as well as the tea set and spilled tea on the carpet. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause all of this. If I would have known that Kurosaki-senpai would have reacted this way, I wouldn't have asked."

"It's ok Mal-chan," Reiji said with a small smile, patting her lightly on the shoulder, "Ran-Ran just needs some time to think is all. He can get really angry about stuff, but after a while, he'll come through..." Even as he said that, Reiji still had some doubts, but he kept them to himself.

"You should get to bed Nakagawa-san, or else you'll catch a cold." Ai muttered to his student, seeing her rather soaked clothes and hair, water still dripping off her clothes and skin, creating a wet spot on the carpet.

"O-Oh, yeah I guess I should." Mallory said with a sheepish look, bowing lightly to her teachers, though wincing slightly from the pain in her back. "Thank you for helping me." She stood up straight and silently began to make her way out of the room, walking at a slightly faster pace then normal, just wanting to hide in her room and never come out. She was hurt, and embarrassed, and wished this nightmare would just end.

* * *

It had been a few hours since the incident, and Mallory was now in her pajamas, reading a book at her desk silently, trying to quell any pain that she felt in her back. She stopped when she heard a knock at her door, closing her book as she scooted out of her seat. She surmised it must have been Haruka; she had heard from some of the STARISH members that they had told her what had happened, and that she would be at her room to talk to her and make sure she was alright.

"You're always so worried about others Nanami-san." Mallory said with a weary smile, going to her door as she opened it.

"Nanami-san, I promise I'm fine, nothing-" She halted her sentence as she saw that it wasn't actually Haruka at the door. She swallowed lightly, her eyes showing slight hesitation as she looked at the male at her door. "Oh, it's you."

"That's all you have to say to me?" Ranmaru asked, looking down at the girl in front of him, one hand in his pocket, the other holding something. He didn't have a glare on his face, but she could tell he was annoyed with just being here.

"What do you want me to say? Thanks for pushing me and giving me a bruise, and by the way, I'm sorry for wondering why you wouldn't teach me?" Mallory asked, giving a small huff at the male; she wondered to herself why she was even talking to him, considering what had happened a few hours earlier.

"Hey, it was-" Ranmaru cut himself off, swearing lowly to himself as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, the annoyed look still on his face. "Look, I'm not here to fight with you again. I..." He stopped himself again, a growl coming to his lips. Mallory was hesitant, blinking as she watched him continue to cut himself off, trying to speak.

"If you're gonna talk, just talk." Ranmaru gave an annoyed glance at Mallory, before giving a sigh.

"I came here to say sorry, ok?" Mallory blinked once more, but in surprise, perking up slightly. Really? Ranmaru was coming to apologize? He glanced at the girl again, jumping when he saw her expression. "I-I'm not apologizing for you digging into my past, got it? It's just for pushing you earlier is all." Mallory gave a slight frown, watching her teacher; he wasn't exactly apologizing the right way, or really giving it any thought. He was more like apologizing for the sake of getting the situation to settle.

"You know, that wasn't really the best apology." Mallory muttered, watching Ranmaru with a frown.

"What, you want me to say something better? I just apologized for pushing you, isn't that enough?" Ranmaru bickered back, the two at a stand still; both had annoyed looks at each other, neither of them budged. Mallory gave a sigh, combing her hair lightly as she looked at the ground for a few moments, before glancing up at Ranmaru.

"Fine, I accept your apology." Mallory said to her teacher, and Ranmaru gave a light scoff, muttering something to himself. The two were silent once again, nothing happening for a few minutes, before Ranmaru shuffled lightly, before he took what he had in his hand, and showed it to Mallory. Her eyes widened lightly as she saw the CD case that Ranmaru held; it was her single that she had recorded earlier that week. "Where'd you get that?"

"Camus and the others wanted me to listen to it; considering I'm your teacher, I have to see your progress and making sure you aren't messing up every few minutes." Mallory gave a small glare at Ranmaru, but noticed that he glanced to the side nervously, before he swallowed lightly. "It...was good." Mallory straightened up lightly when she heard Ranmaru; he really thought it was good.

"Really?" Mallory asked, her voice showing surprise, looking at Ranmaru. He watched her, giving a huff as he glared.

"I said it was good, not great. You still need practice." Mallory gave a small glare at Ranmaru, growling lightly.

"Way to take back a compliment." She said to him, which Ranmaru heard, folding his arms over his chest.

"Hey, I'm jus being honest. You're barely getting there with what you've learned so far, you need to keep going ahead and learn new things before you can even think about becoming an idol." The two were silent once more, before Ranmaru turned, giving another huff before he started to walk away. "We'll be going over to the recording studio again and recording this thing over until you get it right." Mallory gave a small nod, but stopped when she watched Ranmaru.

"Wait, we?" Ranmaru stopped in his tracks as he glanced back at Mallory, his grey and purple eyes staring back at her.

"I"m your teacher aren't I?" He said back to her, before turning back and walking off, his shoes shuffling against the floor as Mallory watched him leave, blinking slightly in surprise. Did Ranmaru just agree to teach her now? She blinked once more, before a small smile came to her lips as she closed her room door. She finally had all her teachers to count on and help her, even if one of them was a bit on the difficult side.

* * *

Well I hoped everyone liked this chapter! It was very serious then the other ones, I know, but things will start to change now that Ranmaru will start to teach our dear idol in training! Reviews are always welcome, and greatly appreciated! Not sure what the next chapter will entail next, but I do know it will feature Mallory's first single!

Until next time~


	6. I'm On Cloud 9

_Hey guys, it's me again! I'm sorry if this chapter is a bit short, but I'm getting ready and writing down ideas for the next chapter, which will be be a big one, I hope! Enjoy!_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own UTAPRI, it's characters, music, or anything related to it. I only own my OC, Mallory Nakagawa, and her designs!_

* * *

"I can't believe it's finally out." Mallory whispered to herself as she grinned in excitement, laying on the couch that settled in one of the many lounging rooms of the Master Course Dorms. In her hands was a copy of the current month's issue of IDOL START, the magazine that she had posed pictures for. "I hope the pictures came out good..." Mallory muttered to herself worriedly, not having opened the magazine yet in trying to surprise herself. The wait was killing her, but the thoughts of how it turned out was pushing her away from the excitement she had tried to build for herself all week. "No turning back now; remember, it's an exciting part of your journey." Mallory whispered to herself, before opening the magazine slowly, flipping through the pages until she had made it to her number. With slight hesitation, she took a small breath, before opening the magazine to look at her page. Her eyes widened, seeing the page in all it's glory. Her full body picture she had taken was shown, and from what she could tell, she looked fine. A smile graced her lips as she looked at the page, suddenly feeling tears well up in her eyes as she quickly wiped them away. This was what she had dreamed of all her life, to be just like her older sister, and make her mother proud. She waited for the tears to stop before she continued to read her page, the grin never leaving her face. She set the magazine fast as she took out her cellphone, calling a number. She heard a few rings, before she heard someone pick up.

"Hey dad, how have you been?" Mallory asked, a smile clear in her voice, nodding when her father answered. "That's good. Just to let you know, I think you should pick up an issue of IDOL START when you have the chance." She gave a laugh as she heard her father question her, glancing at the magazine page of herself. "Why? It's a surprise of course!" She laughed and gave a grin, pure joy brimming through her.

* * *

"_Ne minna_, doesn't Mal-chan look so cute?" Ranmaru gave a groan as he heard Reiji continue to gawk over the issue of IDOL START that he was looking over, for around the third time in a row.

"Give it a rest already. I still don't understand why you gush over her," Ranmaru gave a small huff, looking back at Reiji, "besides, it's just a magazine interview, it's not like it's anything amazing." Reiji gave a confused look, the magazine in his hands before he gave Ranmaru a small grin.

"You say that Ran-Ran, but weren't you the one who bought the magazine?" Reiji gave another grin when he saw Ranmaru visibly twitch in his seat, a small dust of pink on his cheeks.

"I-I only bought it because I knew you would complain to me the whole day! Besides, it's just to see if they got their information right on her, that's it!" He gave a small growl afterwords, settling in his seat with his arms folded across his chest, legs crossed over the other. Reiji gave a small smile as he continued to look over the article, settling down in another seat.

"I only gush over her because she's come so far. She's been training and practicing every day of every week so far, and has wanted this for a long time. She's finally getting what she's wanted, so of course I'm gonna be proud of her!" He then gave a goofy smile back to Ranmaru as he held he magazine, "Plus she's so adorable that I can't gush over her!" Ranmaru gave a small growl, watching the male across from him as he gave a roll of his eyes. Ranmaru looked at the clock in the room, glancing back at Reiji.

"Isn't Nakagawa and Camus about to do a lesson now?" Reiji gave a nod, setting the magazine down.

"Yep, I think a dance lesson today. After, we can tell her the great news!" Ranmaru gave a groan at Reiji's enthusiasm, but gave a nod of his head. They had a surprise for their student, they only hoped she would be ready for what was to come.

* * *

"You think you can copy that?" Camus asked his student, watching Mallory reply the moves in her head that her teacher had just done. The dance she was learning was meant for two dancers, and Camus had needed a partner for an upcoming live he would be doing. As well, it was the perfect opportunity to teach her.

"Yep! Just say the word and we can start!" Camus gave a nod, walking over to the CD player that he had brought over with him. He pushed the play button as music began to fill the room, before walking back over to his spot next to his student.

"Today I'll be teaching you not just to dance, but how to dance while singing. It's common with idols to use in concerts or lives, however it can be difficult for first timers. You'll simply dance to the music while I'll sing and dance, and then we'll go through each step." When the music began to change, the cue began as Camus gave a nod to Mallory, before beginning to sing.

_While under the influence called 'love,' rather than being embraced by corruption,__  
__It's fine if my "self" was stained with a song. Ooh…Majestic love._

Mallory began to dance the moves that Camus had gone over with her, watching him every so often as he sang his song, noticing how good he rally was. He began to dance as well, each note so far on key. The song was rather faced pace, but it was nothing Mallory couldn't handle so far.

_Time that's overlapped is surely holiness, breathing beautifully  
If I can reach your lips…it'll be lesson time, into the lovely night_

_A fleeting rhapsody, a heart of ice…are confusing me_  
_Will you make me melt? …Oh, my precious…_

Mallory heard the cue for the first chorus as she walked step by step with her instructor, before the two began to dance in a waltz, as Camus wrapped an arm around Mallory's waist like when he had shown her, the two's movements in synch with each other, with no steps off beat.

_While under the influence called 'dreams,' from a prison of frozen love,  
I felt nothing born in the heat of this majestic love  
The aurora rains down, the two of us will believe  
In eternity… I'll kneel only to you in this majestic love_

The two then broke apart as Camus gave a kneel towards Mallory, at just the right moment when the line had been spoken in the chorus, before the music continued, the two in synch with each others movements, step by step, beat by beat they continued like this. Mallory kept her head in check as she steadied her breathing, wondering how much practice Camus had with dancing and singing, the two together seemed almost overwhelming. She simply continued, hearing his deep voice reverberate within the dance room as Camus continued his song, simply taking steps for the next chorus.

_I'll teach you the tenderness of night, close your eyes…  
A voice counts, one, two…silently. You'd best be quiet_

_Let's cast away words, this cold kiss…grows warmer_  
_God, if you'll allow it, let time…ah, let it stop_

_Snow white purity, blooming in your stainless heart,_  
_This feeling, this desire, this prayer, they're immersed in this majestic song_  
_Shining, glistening in a single tear,_  
_It's like these emotions pieced my heart, reviving in me…_

The next chorus was finished as the two began to dance together once more, side by side, their movements in synch as they looked into each others eyes intently, the music flooding into their ears. The sound of cello playing was heard in the music, Mallory noticed, as she remembered that the instrument that Camus specialized in was the cello. It fit him rather well, considering he was a count, and that he was always so elegant in what he did, and how he said things with finesse and grace. Just like his singing and dancing, he always stayed cool and collected, and was always diligent. She heard the cue for the next chorus as she walked towards the other side of the dance room, simply standing in an elegant pose, the one that Camus had instructed her to do, as he advanced towards her.

_As stars dance in the sky, my frozen hand_

Mallory watched as Camus walked behind her, his hand gliding over her shoulders lightly as he sang.

_Still has yet to understand the warmth of 'bonds'_

Mallory nodded her head slightly as she heard each word that Camus sang, remembering the beats and the cues as best as she could, before she remembered the next cue. She tilted her head to look up at Camus as his hand that passed her shoulders gently graze his hand against her cheek, an intense look in his eyes as the next lines passed his lips.

_Could you teach me…?_

Mallory swallowed lightly then, a strange feeling of something she wasn't sure of welling up inside her, her eyes widening lightly as she stared back at Camus's icy blue eyes. She felt as if something had shot through her, her heart starting to beat faster, as well as her cheeks getting warm. What the heck was this? And why now of all times? Before she could even register what was happening, Camus was already singing, and she had gone of beat for a few moments. She quickly got back to her place, following Camus as he continued the rest of the song, cursing to herself in confusion.

_While under the influence called 'dreams,' from a prison of frozen love,  
I felt nothing born in the heat of this majestic love  
The aurora rains down, the two of us will believe  
In eternity… I'll kneel only to you in this majestic love_

The music ended as the CD player stopped the disk as the two stood to catch their breath, with Mallory bending over lightly to rest her body, hands on her knees.

_"Glad that's over."_ Mallory thought to herself as she stood back up, cursing to herself, wondering what the heck had happened during that last chorus.

"You did well, though you slipped up at the end." Mallory winced slightly as she gave a small nod to Camus, taking another breath.

"_Gomen _Camus-senpai, I didn't mean to. I...got distracted, it won't happen again." Camus gave a small nod, stretching his muscles lightly.

"You're learning Nakagawa-san, you can mess up. You'll learn from your mistakes and perfect it as time permits." Mallory gave a small nod, jumping when she heard the door to the dance room suddenly open, seeing Reiji run in with a grin on his face, with Ranmaru slowly walking behind Reiji, a frown on his lips.

"Yo Mal-chan!" Reiji exclaimed with a grin, walking over to the girl as he held the magazine in his hand. "I saw your article in IDOL START, congratulations!" Mallory gave a small laugh, giving a small bow to Reiji.

"Thank you Rei-chan, I'm just as excited as you are. Though since I already recorded my single, and I made it into IDOL START, I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to do next." Camus glanced at Reiji and Ranmaru, knowing what they were going to say. Reiji gave a grin as he held up the magazine in his hand, opening it to the last page of the booklet.

"You're gonna sing at a live of course!" Reiji motioned towards the page he was showing, depicting an announcement page for IDOL START's Annual Idol Festival. "IDOL START is having their festival to announce their new idols that have been featured in the magazine this month!" Mallory was in shock, her face showing surprise as she snatched the magazine from her teacher, looking over the page over and over.

"B-But I thought they had cancelled it!" Mallory exclaimed, making sure her vision, or her hearing, wasn't impaired in any way. "They said that they couldn't find a proper venue in time to host all the new idols!"

"It seems a certain someone decided to have it be hosted at his own amusement park." Ranmaru said back, arms folded across his chest as he watched Mallory with amusement, almost pleased by her panicked state. Mallory looked again at the paper, scanning it over and over until she gave a glare at the paper, twitching lightly when she noticed a certain name on the paper.

"Saotome..." She muttered with a small hint of disdain; of course he would pull some sort of stunt like this. When did he even have the time to get his own amusement park? Mallory simply gave a sigh, she didn't want to know how her boss had the time to get a theme park for himself, but suddenly shook in surprise. "W-Wait, I only have a week to prepare! I'm not gonna have enough time to do anything with my lessons tied into all this! Plus I have to make a clean track of my single, and make a stage outfit for the show, and practice my dancing-" Mallory stopped rambling when she felt a hand come to her shoulder, turning to see Camus's blue eyes staring down at her.

"Calm down Nakagawa-san, there's nothing to worry about. For this next week you do not have any lessons; we're giving you the time to prepare until you're ready for the concert. Relax, and you'll do fine." Mallory gave a small nod, taking in a deep breath to calm herself, before glancing down at the magazine again. She looked at the paper, a worried look coming to her face.

"Do you...Do you think I'm ready for this?" She looked up at her teachers, wonder and confusion filling her eyes; did she have enough training? Had she practiced well enough, hard enough?

"They wouldn't have invited you if they didn't think you were good enough." Ranmaru said with a small frown, leaning against the nearby wall. Reiji gave a nod, looking at Mallory with a grin.

"They heard your single and want you to be in the concert, that's gotta be proof enough!" Mallory gave a small nod, a smile coming to her lips as she grasped the magazine lightly in her hands. She looked up at her teachers, giving a smile before she bowed to all of them.

"Thank you," her smile never left her face as she stood up straight, "Without you help, I would have never gotten this far; I would still be up at that office building if it wasn't for you guys." Reiji gave a grin as Camus simply gave a nod, a small smile coming to his lips, as Ranmaru simply gave a glance away from her, his cheeks dusted a light pink.

"It's what teachers are for!" Reiji said as he gave Mallory a pat on the head, as Mallory gave a moan of complaint, but a smile still graced her lips. "You should get going to your room and start preparing right away, don't let us keep you." Mallory gave a nod, taking her things as she waved goodbye to her teachers, before making her way out of the dance room and rushing to her room to get things started.

* * *

"I can't believe I finally got that done." Mallory sighed heavily, muttering to herself as she looked at the design in her sketch book; after many re-dos and much deliberation and what kind of materials she was going to be using, she had finally come up with a stage outfit for her song. Now all she had to do was make it; if only it were as simple as just saying it.

"Making the ruffles will take a some time, I should probably get started with those first." Even as Mallory said that, her eyes glanced towards the clock up on her wall. It had been about two and a half hours since she had spoken with her teachers, maybe a small break was in order. "I guess it can't hurt to take a break; don't want to stress myself out." She scooted out of her seat as she stood up straight, stretching lightly as she moaned in content at the feeling of her muscles getting some sorely needed attention. She muttered to herself that tea would be good, and began to make her way out of her room, closing her door and walking down the hall to the lounge area, where the kitchen was located. As she walked she heard the front door to the dorms open as she saw a tuft of cyan colored hair walk in, a smile coming to her lips as she waved. "Mikaze-senpai." The male turned after he had closed the door, seeing his student waving towards him.

"Nakagawa-san." He gave a simple nod, watching her carefully with another one of his rather dull expressions, though she noticed that he looked more...focused? Or rather, more observant than usual.

"Um, I was about to go to the lounge to make tea. You wanna join me?" She hoped that he would, secretly, and she wasn't sure why. The same strange feeling she had felt with Camus was coming back again for some reason, and she shifted on her feet nervously, smiling lightly at Ai. Her held a small frown on his face, blinking for a few moments, before walking over and following her, simply staying silent. Mallory gave a small laugh as the two walked to the lounge, Ai sitting at the wooden table as she observed Mallory, simply watching her movements.

"I had heard that you'll be doing a live concert next week; congratulations are in order." Mallory turned to look at Ai, taking out the tea-pot and other necessities as she smiled.

"Uh thank you, but how did you know?" Ai gave a small noise, looking over his phone with a look of annoyance as he displayed the screen to Mallory.

"Reiji decided that it would be fitting to text me over ten times about the matter; while I was at an interview no less." Mallory gave a nervous laugh, grimacing slightly.

"Kotobuki-senpai would do that..." She trailed off lightly, starting to boil the water as she glanced back at Ai. "Sorry about that, he was just so excited that he probably just couldn't wait." Mallory then began to pour the hot water into the tea-pot, before filling it with the necessary amount of tea leaves and herbs, before bringing both the pot and tea cups over to the table. "He's eccentric like that; always wanting to give people good news with a smile." Ai simply gave a small sigh, shaking his head lightly.

"He should learn to keep that in check; he can always be so loud sometimes." Mallory poured Ai a cup of tea, handing it to him softly as she poured her own cup, before settling the pot down and seating herself in a chair across from Ai. She gave a small sigh of content, relaxed as she drank her tea quietly, glancing at Ai every few moments before she spoke.

"Mikaze-senpai, is something wrong?" She had noticed that he was in rather deep thought, ignoring his tea and glancing off to the side. "Did I make you the wrong type of tea?" He glanced back at her, shaking his head lightly.

"It's nothing for you to concern yourself with Nakagawa-san." Ai stated firmly, though he glanced at his tea, before looking back at Mallory. "Nakagawa-san, what does it mean to you when you warm up to someone?" Mallory gave a small noise of confusion, rather surprised by the rather odd question.

"Hmmm, well...I guess that means when I warm up to someone, I think that would mean that you're getting use to being around someone. You may think of them as annoying or strange or something, but it doesn't bother you like it did before. I guess you could say that you like being around that person, and maybe even you'd want to be friends with them. " Mallory gave a small laugh, rubbing the back of her head nervously. "Well, I mean that's just what I think." She gave a smile as she looked at her tea, then to Ai. "It's kind of like with Quartet Night in a way."

"How so?" Ai asked, rather intrigued by the similarity that his student had made. She put a finger to her chin in thought, trying to find the right words.

"Well, you guys are all very different; none of you are the same. You may not get along all the time, or be nice to one another sometimes, but you all pull through for each other and harmonize in your music. It was also like that with Ranmaru and I; he and I were always arguing and fighting, but now we get along...well, kind of. We still kind of annoy each other, but it's all out of fun." Mallory gave a grin at Ai, taking her tea-cup in her hands. "Why'd you wanna know anyways?" Ai simply gave a shake of his head, folding his arms across his chest.

"I simply just wanted to know your opinion, nothing more." He kept his true intentions to himself, not wanting to confuse the poor girl. In truth, he was still rather perplexed by what he was feeling, not even knowing what it was; hopefully it was nothing too serious. "Nakagawa-san."

"Hm?" Mallory asked, looking at her teacher curiously. His cyan colored eyes looked into her brown eyes, showing an emotion she couldn't exactly pinpoint; it was a strange swirl of different ones she couldn't pick out.

"Are we friends?" The question startled Mallory, blinking in surprise at the question. She set up her cup down as she looked at Ai, thinking to herself nervously. She scratched her cheek lightly with her forefinger, glancing at the side.

"Uh...well I kinda thought we were. Though I thought you cared more about your work and teaching me rather than being my friend, considering most of your students had quit after only being with you for a month." She looked at Ai, a nervous smile on her face. "In truth, I didn't really think you wanted to be friends with me, considering I'm your student and all." What exactly was she supposed to say next? Do you want to be my friend? Did he even want to be after all that stuff she had said? "Well, we can be friends, if you want I mean; you don't have to if you don't want to!" She gave a nervous look, not wanting to annoy her teacher.

"Then we're friends from here on." Ai simply said, taking his tea-cup in his hand. "From now on, you will call me Ai." Mallory jumped lightly, rather surprised by the sudden levity of the relationship. Calling Ai by his first name seemed rather odd, considering she was still his student, but on the other hand, she was also his assistant, so it was ok...right?

"Are you sure?" She asked, looking at the cyan hair-colored male across from her. He simply gave a nod, drinking some of his tea before he set his cup down.

"As well, I will be calling you Mallory; is that clear?" His eyes pierced through her, showing his authority over her through his rather strict stares, and she gave a small nod.

"Y-Yes, I understand...A-Ai." Mallory stuttered slightly when saying his name, feeling rather odd when saying it. She would have to get used to saying his name more often in the future.

"Good. Mallory, refill my tea-cup please." Mallory jumped lightly when she heard Ai call her by her name, feeling that weird feeling her chest again, for the third time today. What the heck was this feeling? It was nagging her to no end and she couldn't understand what it was. She took the pot in her hands and slowly refilled Ai's cup, making sure not to spill. As she did, she glanced at the male across from her, his expression rather calm and collected like always, and she continued to look at him. She stared into his eyes, feeling as if she was being pulled in by the sheer beauty of his stare, though she snapped out of it when she had heard Ai call her.

"Y-Yes Ai!" Mallory exclaimed, her face flushing lightly; she had hoped she hadn't been caught looking at him.

"You're spilling the tea." She looked down and gasped when she saw the tea had spilled from Ai's cup and began to spill on to the table, creating a rather large puddle.

"I'm sorry! I'll get something to clean this up!" Mallory exclaimed, setting the pot down as she ran out of her seat to get something to clean up the mess, and simply wanting to hide her face; why was it when she was with Ai, she got all giddy and nervous? They were just friends, as they had just established today, so there was nothing wrong. She wasn't feeling anything more for her teacher then friendship...right?

* * *

"The design looks great Mallory!" Tomochika gushed, looking at the paper and it's considerably thought out details. "You even put down all the accessories and make up you're going to wear?"

"I just wanted to be sure about everything I wanted for it; no use in being indecisive on the day of the live." Mallory said, feeling a well of nervousness appear inside her every time she had mentioned the festival coming up. She gave a shiver, hugging herself for comfort. "The festival is in a week, and I'm already feeling so nervous and stressed." Tomochika gave a pat on the shoulder to Mallory, sitting next to her on her bed.

"Hey you'll do fine Mallory; it's your first ever live concert, you should be thrilled and excited!" Mallory gave a nervous look to Tomochika as her friend gave a laugh, "Just you wait, when you get up there and sing, you're gonna have the time of your life, trust me." Mallory gave a smile to Tomochika, going under her bed to take out her CD player, and her single that she had recorded; thanks to Ranmaru, they had fixed the mistakes and touched up the song a bit, as well as added a few new elements to the song.

* * *

_ "This song needs something more; you're not gonna be able to impress the judges when it sounds so plain." Mallory gave a small huff at Ranmaru, the two in the mixing studio as they went over the track; Ranmaru had suggested they add things, but Mallory was rather hesitant._

_ "Well, what do you suggest we put in it then?" She asked, leaning in her chair as she glanced at Ranmaru. The male rewound the track to the beginning chorus, pointing to the time stamp._

_ "Here and in each beginning chorus, we should add something to give it more flair; maybe electric guitar. It would add to it rather then make the song a girly mess." Mallory gave a glare to Ranmaru._

_ "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Ranmaru gave an annoyed glance to the girl, playing the song back for her._

_ "How do you hear this and not get sick? It's good, but it's so cute that it would get the audience tired of it after three times of listening to it. You need to add something that gives it life, something that'll give it enough emotion and energy that people will want to listen to it over and over." Mallory heard Ranmaru's advice, and gave a frown, but agreed with him, to herself of course. The song was good, and she liked it, but if she wanted it to sell and for people to enjoy it, some changes would need to be made._

_ "Fine, we'll add the guitar; I'm sure you'll be handling that?" She asked, seeing his guitar settled against the wall next to him. He gave a smirk, leaning in his chair with confidence practically radiating off him._

_ "Of course, who else would you trust?" Ranmaru asked, his confident look directed at Mallory. She gave a sigh, about to give a witty comeback, but she saved it for another day. He was helping her, and the two were somewhat getting along, that was good enough for her. As long as the song was something that she could be proud of, then she would have no problems._

_ "Maybe Rei-chan and Mikaze-senpai could help too; I'm sure their instruments could help with the song too." Mallory said, giving a sigh when she saw that Ranmaru had already started to pick away at his guitar to get the right chords._

* * *

"Kurosaki-senpai and I had just finished the new version of the song; you wanna be the first one to hear it?" Mallory asked with a smile, as Tomochika gave a cheerful grin, a small noise of delight meeting her lips.

"Of course I do!" She took one of the ear buds in her ears, as Mallory took the other. She was rather nervous with someone hearing it for the first time, and she wondered what people would think of it when the festival came around. Would people like it? Hate it? Would they not even care about it? She discarded the thoughts out of her mind, staring at the CD player in her hands, giving a smile to cheer herself up. She was going to be in a live, and sing her song that she made all on her own; that was something she should be proud of. She gave a grin to Tomochika, who was bouncing lightly on the bed in excitement.

"Ready?" Mallory whispered with a smile, before she pressed the play button.

* * *

_So what did you think? Mallory gets to be in her first live concert, and sing her song! How exciting! I just had to put that Saotome had an amusement park, because let's face it, considering all the money and influence he has, I'm sure somewhere down the line he would have built a amusement park for the sake of just being able to._

_Also for you lovelies that have wondered after you read this chapter, I have actually drawn out what Mallory's Stage Outfit is! Her design that she mentioned in the chapter can be seen on my profile, but please excuse my terrible drawing skills that you will sitness, for I have not practiced in FOREVER!_

_Also if you fine readers or any curious people that wish to know, her single, which was mentioned in the last two chapters I believe, can be heard on my profile as well. Unfortunately, I am not a song writer and can not write my own songs because my brain capacity does not stretch that far. XP_

_I used a song from an anime series that I truly enjoy just as much as UTAPRI called IDOLMASTER. If you heard of it then you know what it is and know why I love it! I will be using more songs from this series for Mallory's singles, but all of you know of course that I do not own any of these things, only my OC and her designs! I hope you enjoyed, and I hoped your excited for the next chapter ahead!_


	7. Cinderella Girl

**Hey guys! This is the big moment for Mallory, her first live concert! If you wanna listen to the song while reading the chapter, the link to it is on my profile! I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Um...by the way, thank you for helping me with my costume. I didn't really think that you had the time to help me, considering you were busy with your own group."

"It's no problem Nakagawa-san! Besides, I wanted to see what your outfit would look like when it was done. Haruka-chan was really excited and wanted me to take pictures of it when it was finished." Mallory had been working on her outfit before she came across some difficulties with the outfit, and she had remembered that one of the members of STARISH actually knew how to sew clothes; Shinomiya Natsuki. She had kindly asked if he could use his help with the outfit, and he agreed rather quickly.

"Thanks, maybe instead of taking pictures I could just put it on. It would make things easier, plus I would need to make sure everything fit anyways." Mallory said with a smile, sewing a few bits of lace at the bottom of the dress, intently watching every detail come together.

"Perfect! Just these last few touches and we're ready to go!" Natsuki said with a smile, holding a sewing needle in his hand. The two worked diligently to get the outfit done, sewing and sewing until the couldn't feel their fingertips anymore. "It's done!" The two gave a smile towards each other as they stood back to admire their work, Mallory's smile never leaving her face.

"It's beautiful." Mallory muttered, looking at her outfit with bright eyes, brimming with joy and happiness.

"Let's go show Haruka-chan!" Natsuki said with a smile, Mallory giving a nod; she couldn't wait to surprise her friend.

* * *

"It's amazing Mallory-san!" Haruka exclaimed with a surprised look, walking around Mallory as she felt and touched every part of the dress, feeling the fabric against her fingertips. "How did you even make this so fast?"

"Well I had some help from Shinomiya-san; he really knows his sewing." Mallory said with a smile, laughing lightly as she watched Haruka gawk at the dress.

"What about accessories? Have you thought about if you're going to wear any jewelry with it?" Haruka asked curiously, Mallory giving a small frown.

"I mean, I had some ideas, and I really liked them. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to get anything, so I'm just kind of stuck with the dress and the shoes." Mallory gave a small laugh, shrugging lightly. "B-But it's ok, it's not like I needed that other stuff." Haruka gave a nod, looking at the dress.

"Yeah I guess, it would have looked nice with it though."

"Yeah I know." Mallory said with a small sigh, before giving a grin. "By the way, are you excited about going to the festival? I heard that after the festival, we all get to go out into the amusement park and have fun!" Haruka gave a grin, nodding as she laughed.

"I can't wait to see all the rides and eat all kinds of food! Tomo-chan will even be there to go along with us!" Mallory gave a grin; she didn't know that Tomochika would be there, probably to surprise her, but now she knew thanks to Haruka. "Mallory-san, are you sure that you'll be able to walk around in those heels?" Mallory looked down at the pure white heeled shoes she wore for the costume, inspecting them lightly.

"Mmm, I think will. It'll only be for the concert, not for the whole day. I'll make sure to bring an extra pair of clothes with me so I can change after." Mallory glanced at the clock that Haruka had in her room, giving a small sigh. "Sorry Haruka-chan, but I have to go back to my room now. I need to get some sleep for tomorrow." Haruka gave a nod, understanding the situation.

"Yeah, I don't want to keep you from getting rest. Goodnight Mallory-san, good luck tomorrow!" Mallory gave a nod back to Haruka, a smile on her face as she left her friend's room. She was so nervous, that feeling never leaving her chest the whole time she was with Haruka. What if she choked on stage? What if the music came on, and nothing came out of her mouth except silence? These thoughts floated around her mind as she walked back to her room, her hands close to her chest nervously, but she took a breath. She had to push those thoughts out of her mind as best as possible, she couldn't think that way. If she did, then she would surely get her stage fright back.

* * *

"I should have everything." Mallory said to herself, slightly rushing and panicking to get her things together. She had to be at the amusement park at an early time to get to rehearsals and set things up for her turn on the stage. "Clothes, shoes, my outfit and makeup have already been sent to the backstage area..." A mental check list was going off in her head as she stepped out of her room, with purse in hand with other necessities for the day. It seemed rather ironic for her that she would be rushing and hurrying herself to make sure that she had everything, considering she was also an assistant for Quartet Night, she would have been used to having a timed schedule to keep up the pace.

But this was different then any other regular day.

She quickly made her way out of the girls dorms, walking through the many hallways to finally get to the entrance of the dorms, opening the doors quickly. She rushed down the steps, running as fast as she could to the car that had waited for her. She quickly stuffed her things in the car, before noticing that her left foot felt rather odd. She looked down, only to notice that her flat that she had worn had slipped off her foot.

"Ah! W-Where'd it go?!" Mallory said, looking around in a panic as she tried to figure out where her shoe had slipped off her foot. She stayed off her shoeless foot, leaning against the car to find her shoe, bending her leg lightly to keep it off the ground. She stopped however when she heard someone clear their throat, Mallory turning her head to see cyan colored eyes looking back at her, with his left hand holding her other shoe.

"You should be more careful when you're running down the stairs." He said, watching Mallory with a calculating gaze. Mallory gave a nervous laugh, scratching the back of her head nervously.

"S-Sorry, I was kind of in a rush that I didn't notice it had slipped off." She heard him give a simple sigh, before he kneeled down, Mallory giving a confused look. "Mikaze-senpai, what are you doing?"

"I thought I told you to call me Ai from now on." He said, Mallory wincing lightly in forgetfulness. "Honestly, sometimes you can be so clumsy." He gently grasped her ankle as he gently slipped her flat back on, Mallory's face holding a complete look of embarrassment, her face an entire shade of dark red, feeling as if she was on fire.

"I-I could do it myse-" She stopped when she saw Ai look up at her with a look simply conveying silence, and Mallory shut her mouth as soon as her eyes met his. Once he returned to his feet, she gave a nervous glance back at him, scratching her cheek lightly with her finger. "Thank you, Ai."

"Make sure to watch what you're doing from now on." He muttered, hands folded across his chest before heard more voices from the entrance from the dorm, before Mallory turned to see as well.

"Mal-chan!" Reiji exclaimed as he ran over, a grin on his face. Ranmaru and Camus came over as well, though not as quickly as Reiji had. "Ai-Ai why didn't you call us? We almost missed Mal-chan leaving."

"By the time you said we would have met her she would have been gone. I simply took the time to go before hand so she wouldn't leave without seeing us." Ai simply said back to Reiji, glancing at the male with a blank expression. Mallory gave a small smile, watching the two talk, it was always nice to see all of them together, conversing an not fighting.

"Anyways," Reiji turned to look at Mallory, " We all wanted to come by and wish you good luck before you left, Mal-chan!"

"You didn't have to." Mallory said with a smile, looking at Reiji. "I mean, you guys are going to see me at the concert, so it wouldn't have been that much of a burden on you guys."

"It's no burden Nakagawa-san, we simply wanted to give you are best wishes before you head off. We won't be able to see you when you get back stage, so this was the perfect opportunity." Camus said, giving a small smile to his student. Mallory gave a smile to Camus, and the others, giving a small bow to them.

"Thank you." Mallory said, meaning it truthfully. "You all have been great teachers to me so far, and have taught me so much. I'm glad that I could have you guiding me, and I hope to learn even more from you in the future."

"We'll be happy to teach you Mal-chan!" Reiji exclaimed, hugging Mallory tightly as she gasped from the sudden action.

"_A-Arigatou_, Rei-chan..." Mallory said with a small laugh, before he let her go, his goofy grin never leaving his face. She gave a smile to all of them, before turning to look at the car.

"I have to go now..." She said, looking at her teachers. "I'll do my best!"

"We know you will Mal-chan! Give it your all!" Reiji said with a grin, Ranmaru glancing at Mallory.

"Don't screw it up." He simply said, as Mallory gave a small frown at Ranmaru, but she discarded the thought of bickering with him. It was his own way of saying good luck, even if it sounded like an insult...

"Stay focused and you'll succeed!" Camus announced gracefully, with Mallory giving a determined nod of her head. She glanced at Ai, his eyes staring back at her for a few moments.

"Good luck." He simply said, blinking lightly at his student, who gave a nod.

"I guess...I'll see you guys when I get on stage." Mallory said, smiling again. She opened the car door, turning back to wave goodbye to her teachers, before getting into the back of the car. It drove off, with Mallory looking back to see her teachers watching her, as she gave a smile. She took a breath, a hand coming close to her chest to calm herself. She would need to do the rehearsal, meet the other idols, and get ready. "I can do this..."

* * *

"I hope you guys do great on stage." Mallory said with a smile, talking to some of the girls that have arrived before her. She found out that many of hem were in the magazine with her, and as well, would be singing on stage alongside her. Even though they all wouldn't get to sing a song together, they would all be performing on the same stage. It was something that was an personal experience for each of them but together, it was something bigger. It was their big shot, their first live, an their first chance to make an impression on the world.

"You'll do fine Mal-chan." One of the girls said, Nami, holding a grin on her face. Mallory simply gave a laugh, though a bit nervously. "By the way, where'd you go to learn your idol lessons? Saotome's Academy? Or maybe at Orihara's Music Institute?" Mallory's face fell lightly as the question was directed towards her, fiddling with her fingers against her lap.

"W-Well..." She glanced to her left, then to her right, before looking back at the group. "I never went to any school."

"Eh?! You didn't go to school? How'd you get here then?" Nami exclaimed, surprised beyond belief; going to school or getting a contract were the only ways of debuting as an idol.

"Uh, well I was asked by my boss that I worked for, Shining Saotome. I was just a designer and assistant in training when he asked me, because he knew that I had been trying for a really long time to get into his school and become an idol." Nami gave a nod, though some of the other girls gave weary looks.

"You never went to school for this? Do you have enough experience to even go up there?" One of them asked, looking at Mallory a bit suspiciously.

"She's right. Don't you think you should actually go to an academy and learn these things before you go all willy-nilly into a live. You could embarrass yourself on stage and never live it down." Mallory gave a nervous look, looking away from the girls, a frown on her face. Their comments stung, but she stayed silent.

"H-Hey don't be like that guys, she got here by practicing and learning from people or else IDOL START wouldn't have put her in the magazine!" Nami scolded back to the girls, who stepped back from their insults. Most still held their annoyed expression, before most of them left, leaving only Mallory and Nami. "Hey, don't get down by what they said. They can be mean, but that's just because it's their first concert."

"But it's my first one two, and yours. They're right though, I haven't gone to school or an academy to learn these things, and I'm still learning-"

"Aren't we all?" Nami asked, Mallory looking up at the girl. "We just got are debut today, and are going to sing our own songs, that's got to mean something. Those other girls, they're just like that because their jealous of you and the opportunity you got. For them, they've been studying and working hard to get into a music school to learn all these things just in order to be here; for you, you just got asked by Shining Saotome and your suddenly an idol. It may be different, but you had put in enough effort for your boss to see that you wanted it that badly. That can't all be for nothing now can it?"

"Why are you trying to make me feel better?" Mallory asked curiously at Nami as she gave a sigh, laughing.

"You see, I'm not like those other girls," she turned back to look at where the girls had run off to, "unlike them, I want to make friends. Sure I'm gonna have rivals, but I should at least meet new people and have fun times on the way!" Mallory watched the energetic girl, before stiffing a laugh, as Nami gave a confused look. "What's so funny?" Mallory stopped her laughing, but held a smile as she looked back at the idol.

"I just wish I could be more like you." Mallory gave a small sigh, watching the crew get things set up, a small coming to her lips. "You're so energetic and full of energy, but I'm always hesitant and making a fool out of myself. Though your words helped me a bit, hopefully I can sing my song on stage without anything getting in my way!"

"That's the spirit!" Nami said with a toothy grin, but turned when she heard the crew call the idols over for a meeting about the live. "Guess we gotta go now." Mallory heard the call as well, walking with Nami. "Good luck out there!"

"You too." Mallory said with a smile.

* * *

"Woah, this place is packed! You think it's because of the IDOL START concert that's happening at the amphitheater?" Tomochika asked, looking through her dark shaded sunglasses at the crowd of people in the Amusement Park. "It's kinda hot, maybe we should get some ice cream or a soda before we meet up with Mallory backstage..."

"Tomo-chan, we have to get these to Mallory, remember?" Haruka asked, holding the bags they carried with them.

"Oh yeah. Right, we'll do that first, and then we'll get some ice cream and drinks before we head back to the theater to see Mallory-chan on stage!" Haruka gave a nod, smiling as the two walked through the crowds of people, trying not to bump into anyone on the way, before they saw the Amphitheater in view. Streamers and balloons littered the entrance to the theater as banners were hung from the rafters above. Two giant LED screens were set at the stage above the stage, one of the left and right for the viewing comfort of guests.

"Woah! Do you see all of this?!" Tomochika exclaimed in surprise; the magazine and it's crew had gone all out in promoting the concert, and they were sure that Saotome had some say in it as well.

"How do we find Mallory-chan?" Haruka asked, looking around the theater for some type of entrance back stage.

"Guess we'll have to ask security. Hope they let us in though, or else we may not be able to give her these." Tomochika sighed, glancing down at the small bags they carried. "Let's go and ask, Mal-chan needs our help!" Haruka gave a nod, as the two made their way to the entrance to the back area, asking a guard for assistance.

* * *

"Your outfit's so amazing Mal-chan!" Nami exclaimed in awe, staring at Mallory's idol outfit in surprise. Mallory gave a small laugh, nervously fiddling with the lace at the bottom of the skirt.

"T-Thanks. I made it myself, but...you don't think it looks too girly, do you?"

"Too girly?! It's perfect! It matches your song perfectly; you almost even look like Cinderella!" Mallory gave another laugh, but she turned when she heard familiar voices calling her. "Huh? Who are those girls?"

"Tomo-chan? Haruka-chan? What are you guys doing back here?" Mallory asked, surprised that the two were able to come back stage. The company had said that no civilians were allowed back stage to keep everything in the concert tightly sealed, with no leaks of anything getting out before the performance.

"Security let us in when we said that we work for you," Tomochika said with a smirk, "we came to bring you these!" Tomochika and Haruka thrust two small bags with ribbons tied to them to the brown-haired girl, taking them delicately in her hands.

"You guys didn't have to do this..." Mallory trailed off, looking at her friends with a small smile.

"We did it because you're are friend Mallory-chan! Open them now before the show begins!" Haruka said excitedly, and Mallory began to open on e of the bags, setting the other on to the desk she was using for her makeup. When Mallory opened the bag, something shimmered lightly from the lights above inside the bag, and Mallory pulled out the small item to reveal a silver headband embedded with a miniature rhinestone crown.

"A crown headband? Tomo-chan, you didnt-"

"Keep opening everything Mallory." Tomochika instructed with a grin, watching as the girl pulled out a mini bow choker with a heart pinned to it, a pair of pearl earrings, a lace garter with a pink ribbon and a lace armlet colored light pink.

"You guys...you got me all my accessories..." Mallory trailed off, looking at everything that the two had gotten her, before she turned and crushed them into a hug, Haruka and Tomochika almost tripping from the sudden force. "Thank you! You guys are the best!" Haruka and Tomochika simply smiled as the returned the hug, before Tomochika pulled Mallory off with a grin.

"Come on, come on! Put everything on I want to see what it looks like!" Haruka and Nami gave a grin too, almost jumping in excitement as Mallory began to put on the earrings, then the choker, after the lace armlet, and finally the headband, tilted lightly so the crown would be at an angle.

"How does it look?" Mallory asked, showing off the completed outfit with a smile, spinning around for effect as the girls gave smiles, admiring the outfit.

"It looks awesome Mallory-chan!" Nami exclaimed, giving a thumbs up. "Now you really look like Cinderella!" Mallory gave a nervous laugh, blushing again when she heard more of the crew get ready, signaling that the concert was about to start.

"Guess we gotta go now." Haruka said with a smile, laughing with Tomochika. "We'll be in the audience watching your performance! Good luck!" Mallory gave a nod, watching her two friends leave as she took a breath, nervous beyond belief.

"It'll be ok Mallory," Nami said with a comforting smile, patting her friend on the back, "We'll have so much fun out there, all your worries will melt away." Mallory gave a smile back to her friend, waving to her when she walked away to go back to her designated area. Mallory gave a small sigh, sitting down at her desk, looking at herself in the mirror, with all her accessories and makeup. She almost couldn't recognize herself, remembering her usual look back in the office. She held a smile all the time, but it didn't have much energy, it was something to simply not worry people or her friends. But now her smiles were full of life and always happy, and even better, they were true smiles. She laughed to herself, putting her makeup away when she noticed the other bag that Haruka had left for her.

_"What's in this one then?"_ Mallory thought to herself curiously as she opened he bag, finding a medium sized velvet box inside, as well as a folded note inside. She set the box down gently as she opened the note, reading it carefully. "Dear Mallory-chan, we wish you good luck on your debut on stage! We'll be there to cheer you on and give you our love and support from the audience! From, Quartet Night." She could tell that Reiji had wrote the message due to the many emojis in the letter, as well as his usual hand writing. She set the note down gently on the desk as she took the box in her hand, opening it as her eyes widened lightly. Inside was a silver bracelet, with five different colored gems inside the bracelet. Dark green for Reiji, Crimson Red for Ranmaru, Icy Blue for Camus, Lavender for Ai, and finally a gem with a pale pink color, her own color. She looked down at the bracelet for a few moments before settling it in her hand, before holding it close to her chest, a smile gracing her lips.

_"Arigatou, minna."_ Mallory whispered, never letting go of the bracelet. She gave a determined smile, slipping the bracelet onto her wrist, the gems sparkling lightly in the light as she got to her feet. It was time for the concert to start, and she would give it her all.

* * *

Fireworks went off above the amphitheater as cheers from the packed audience resounded in claps and cheers, signaling the start of the festival. Men, women, children, teenagers all filled the audience, with the front of the audience being reserved seating. Music affiliates, news crews, and important business men filled the front audience, but also in the front was STARISH, Quartet Night, Haruka and Tomochika.

"How'd you get these seats Haruka?! We're right at the front!" Tomochika exclaimed, looking around at all the decorations that covered the stage and theater, eating some popcorn that she had gotten beforehand. Haruka gave a small laugh, motioning to STARISH.

"As soon as IDOL START heard that STARISH wanted to see the show they gave us the seats no problem." They both gave a laugh as the lights above the theater dimmed, as all the audience cheered in excitement.

"Hello, and welcome to the IDOL START Idol Festival!" A voice exclaimed, the stage lights shining to show a figure on stage. Long pink hair flowed to his back as he wore a simple yellow sweater, and a cute smile on his face. "I'll be your host for today, Tsukimiya Ringo-chan! Today, we'll be hearing many talented young women today, so make sure to cheer and give them your best welcome!" The audience clapped and cheered loudly, some yelling out specific names of girls in anticipation for their song to come on.

"Alright then, here we go!" The LED screen above the stage showed the graphic for the event, as it disappeared in sparkles to reveal the first singer. "Our first singer is Nami Hidaka-chan! She's sixteen years old and went to Saotome Academy!" People in the audience cheered as Ringo gave a smile, "She'll be singing her first single, 'Love Cafe!' Everyone give an exciting welcome to Nami-chan!" The audience erupted into a wave f cheers and yells of excitement as Nami came to the stage, waving to the audience.

"Hello everyone! I can't wait to sing my song to you all! So sit back an relax and watch me sing my heart out!"

* * *

"_Sugoi..._" Mallory whispered to herself, as she watched Nami sing and dance to her single, beaming with excitement and energy every step of the way. She clenched the stage curtains in front of her tightly, feeling her nervousness start to take a hold of her, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from her friend on stage. She was having so much fun and singing with so much passion, that she couldn't think about her problems. A smile came to her face when the audience cheered for her when she had finished, before Nami ran into back stage with a huge grin on her face.

"Mallory-chan I did it!" She exclaimed, hugging her friend with such intensity that she almost fell to the ground from the sheer power of her hug.

"You did great Nami-chan. I don't think I could have gone out there being the first one." Mallory said with a small smile, Nami letting go of her friend as a crew member brought Nami a towel and water, as she gave a small thanks.

"You'll be nervous at first, but you'll do great Mal-chan. Just remember, you're there to let people hear your song! Those people came to see you sing and that's what you're going to do!" Mallory gave a giggle at her friends words, but gave a nod.

"I'll remember that; thank you, Nami-chan." Nami gave a grin, before she motioned for Mallory to sit with her.

"I'll be here with you until you get called so your nerves don't get to you, ok?" Nami asked calmly, Mallory giving a nod. The two sat together, hearing the next girl be called to the stage, both watching from a small TV backstage.

* * *

After five other girls were called to sing on stage, Mallory was getting rather anxious in her seat, shaking lightly. At around the third girls song, Nami had suggested that Mallory hold her hand to make her feel better, but after the fifth girl, Mallory was still clutching her friend's hand, almost painfully so.

"You have really bad stage fright, don't you?" Nami asked, watching as Mallory still held her friend's hand in hers, nodding fast. "If you get scared up there, just take a deep breath and remember what I told you." Mallory gave another nod of her head, but jumped when she saw a crew member walk towards the two.

"Nakagawa-san?" Mallory gave a nod of her head, looking up at the male.

"It's your turn, I'll lead you to where you'll be walking out." Mallory swallowed thickly, giving a nervous look to her friend, as she gave a calm smile to her, patting her shoulder.

"I'll be rooting for you, Mal-chan. You'll do great out there, I know it." Mallory gave a nod, still silent from her nerves as she slowly got to her feet, her legs shaking as she began to walk with the crew member to the entrance to the stage. Her heart was beating a mile per minute, her blood racing through her veins; if she didn't run off stage from her stage fright, she was sure she would faint right on the spot. She stopped when the crew member told her to wait for her cue by Ringo, before handing her a microphone, as well as giving her a quick 'good luck', before running off to the sound area to get her song ready. She stood there, her legs shaking, as her hands wobbled lightly, holding the microphone in her hands. She swallowed thickly, as she looked through the curtains, her eyes widening to see the audience filled with people. She took a small step back, her breath hitched in her throat, hearing her heat beat through her ears loudly.

"Hey, that's the girl that didn't go to a music school right?" Mallory turned as she heard a voice gossip near her, before she couldn't see where it was coming from.

"Yeah, she just ended up getting scouted. She looks like she gonna faint on the spot, right?"

"I know, she totally does. Isn't her song called 'Onegai! Cinderella'? Maybe her magic spell is wearing off." She heard girls laugh as she gave a shaky breath, her hands shaking lightly when she heard the words. Was she really ready? Did she have enough training? Her thoughts cut off suddenly when she heard Ringo come back on stage, swallowing thickly as the audience began to cheer.

* * *

"Wasn't that last girl just the cutest?" The audience cheered and laughed as Ringo gave a wink to the audience, before taking out his list to introduce the next idol. "Our next idol is from Tokyo, but was actually born overseas in America; Mallory Nakagawa-chan! As well-" Ringo was cut off when he looked over the paper, a few times before giving a smile. "This is something I've never heard of before! Nakagawa-san didn't go to any music school or academy, but was actually scouted by our very own benefactor, Shining Saotome!" Some people in the audience gave a confused noise, or gasps of surprise, as Haruka and Tomochika gave a smiles to each other, both of them giddy in their seats. "Alright everyone, let's bring out our next idol, Mallory Nakagawa-chan!" The audience clapped and cheered as Ringo clapped as well, as the curtains opened to reveal Mallory in all her nervous glory. Her legs still shook slightly, but she made herself walk over up to the stage next to Ringo, giving a small nod to the man. "Are you excited to sing your single today, Mal-chan?" The question was directed to her, but Mallory was so nervous by the crowd of people, that she hadn't even heard the question. Her eyes shook as she looked all the eyes watching her, waiting for her to say something; she felt as if she was going to shut down.

_ "You never went to school for this? Do you have enough experience to even go up there?" _The insults flooded back into her mind, Mallory shutting her eyes to try to get them to stop. _"She's right. Don't you think you should actually go to an academy and learn these things before you go all willy-nilly into a live. You could embarrass yourself on stage and never live it down."_ Her hands tightly grasped he mic in her hands, feeling as if she was going to cry.

"Am I really good enough?" She asked herself, looking down at her feet, shaking slightly as more of the insults came back to her mind.

_"I know, she totally does. Isn't her song called 'Onegai! Cinderella'? Maybe her magic spell is wearing off." _Mallory gave a frown, but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head quickly to see Ringo looking at the girl worried.

"Nakagawa-chan, are you alright?" He asked, Mallory still silent. She swallowed and remembered what Nami had told her. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, her heart beat slowing down as her shaking had stopped, opening her eyes slowly to give a nod to Ringo. She turned to look at the audience, giving an apologetic smile.

"Gomen, I just get really nervous when a lot of people are staring at me," She gave a small laugh, "And yes, I'm excited to sing my song for all of you." She looked at the audience with a smile, waving lightly to her friends. "I have friends that are here supporting me, and that makes things a bit easier for me. I hope to make all of them proud, and to give everyone out there a fun time!" The audience cheered and yelled in excitement once more, as Mallory watched Haruka and Tomochika clap for her, as well as STARISH. She noticed that Quartet Night was simply watching her, giving her looks of encouragement as she gave a small smile, before she turned to the audience one more.

"Alright then! Here we go with Mallory Nakagawa-chan's first single, 'Onegai! Cinderella!" The audience cheered as the lights dimmed, Mallory remembering the cues for the song. She got into her stance, holding the microphone as she gave a calm smile.

_"I can do this." _She thought to herself, glancing at her friends once more. _"If I have friends that support me and encourage me, then I can do anything!" _She gave a smile as the music began, the lights dimming onto her figure as she began.

_Please! Cinderella  
This dream won't end as just a dream  
I've started to move, towards sparkling days!_

As soon as the first chorus started, Mallory began to dance as the stage shot out pink and white colored confetti and streamers as the audience cheered her own.

_Everyday, no matter when, I wanna have my cute heart!  
But when I'm in a pinch and trying to survive, I wanna overcome it coolly  
With invincible passion, I'll update my broken heart!  
I'll just do everything that I can._

_As if this magic was never-ending,  
Having realistic skills is a miracle! So I believe_

_Please! Cinderella  
This dream won't end as just a dream  
It'll come true if you wish on a star!  
I finally found it! My only star  
Even though it's still small,  
It's started shining, towards sparkling days_

Mallory gave a wink to the crowd of cheering people as the clapped along to the music, her heart on an absolute high. She was nervous or scared like she was before, but more excited and happy then she had ever felt before.

_Even though I may feel down sometimes, I don't wanna run away.  
Even if I miss chances and auditions.  
But during those times, your smile becomes my power!  
It gives me the courage to try one more time_

_Even though I started barefoot,  
I'll overcome battles and my smile will reach you! Don't forget that_

_Anyone can be Cinderella!  
Right now I'm waking from a dream  
It's beginning! If I start drawing a new story.  
I'll grab it! My only star  
Even though it's still far,  
it's shining down on me so I can face tomorrow_

_In this world, there's only one life I have!  
There are things no one else can do  
I don't wanna just watch from afar,  
I have to reach for my goals!_

"Are you having fun?" Mallory exclaimed to the audience in her mic, giving a grin as the audience clapped and cheered in response, some of the audience even beginning to dance along to the music as well as she smiled. People were enjoying her song, and she couldn't help but thank Ranmaru for that simple change he thought of. She would have to thank him once she was done. As soon as the chorus was about to end, she stood straight and tall, giving the audience a determined smile as she held her hand to her chest proudly.

_In my heart, I'm Cinderella!  
I'm not beginning all alone  
I'm changing, and linking to your dream as well_

_A star that shines for everyone  
Someday I'll be that...  
So I've begun moving, towards shining days!_

_Please! Cinderella  
This dream won't end as just a dream  
It'll come true if you wish on a star!_

_I found it! My only star  
And I wanna keep looking!_

_After I dry my tears,  
I'll smile again!  
And smartly,  
but still cutely,  
I'll keep going!_

Mallory breathed heavily, taking in gasps of air as she gave her last pose to the audience, the music finally coming to a close as silence filled her ears. Before she could register what was happening, the entire audience erupted into thunderous applause and cheers of pure joy. Mallory took a few more breathes, straightening to her feet as she watched everyone cheer for her, looking at them with a surprised smile. She felt her eyes water with tears, wiping them lightly as she bowed to the crowd, a grin beaming on her face. She stood on her feet as they continued to cheer, Mallory glancing behind her to see that Nami was clapping for her as well, a thumbs up pointed her way as she gave a small laugh.

"Woah! That song was just bursting with energy! Did you all like it?" Ringo asked the audience as he walked back on stage, cheering and clapping response as Mallory gave a nervous laugh. "How are you feeling Mallory-chan?"

"Um, actually kinda exhausted. I was singing and dancing with so much energy that I kinda tired myself out." The audience laughed at the answer as Ringo chuckled, smiling at the girl.

"And you should be, that song you wrote was fantastic! I was jumping along with the lyrics and beat when I heard you singing!" Mallory gave a smile, giving thanks to the man. "You really outdid yourself today Mallory-chan, especially with how you got here! Originally, you were just working as an assistant and designer to idols, correct?"

"Ah, yeah you're right-"

"THAT'S CORRECT, RINGO-SAN!" Mallory jumped when she heard a boisterous voice resound in the amphitheater, as the audience gave confused looks. Before Mallory even had time to register what was happening, the LED screen above them revealed a video, showing the one man who held this event.

"Oh, everyone it's our very own Shining Saotome!" The audience gave gasps of surprise as the clapped and cheered for the once idol, as he gave a grin.

"Thank you dear fans! However I am not here for your praise, I am here to talk about Miss Nakagawa-san!" Mallory jumped lightly as she moved a bit to get a better look at the screen, giving a curious look to the man. "It is true that I scouted her myself, but not because her sister is an over ranking idol, but because she showed tremendous skill and potential! As you can see, my assumptions were correct when I asked her to become an idol; don't you agree?!" The audience cheered and roared in response as Mallory looked back at them, before she turned back at the screen. "Nakagawa-san, your song gave me chills of excitement when I heard it! I felt as if my heart would burst out of my chest! You truly are a Cinderella Girl!" Mallory gave a confused tilt of her head, looking at Saotome.

"Cinderella...Girl?" She asked, not sure by what he meant with the term. Saotome simply gave a shake of his head, pointing at her through the screen.

"Your story of how you became an idol by mere chance is something of a miracle, a wish you have wanted to be granted for so long. It reflects the hopes and dreams of girls that wish to be like you, and it resonates with your own song that you have written! Your story is a variation of the very fairytale that I am speaking of, and it has come true today! From now on today, you are just like the very maiden Cinderella, a Cinderella Girl! You will give hopes and dreams to aspiring idols across the nation, and show them that anything is possible! Does that sound right, my dear audience?!" Mallory turned when she heard the crowd scream and cheer in response to Saotome's declaration, some even exclaiming her new title. "ALRIGHT! Then please join me in announcing Shining Agency's very own Cinderella Girl, Mallory Nakagawa-san!" The audience stood and cheered as Mallory simply watched in astonishment as people cheered her name. She gave a laugh, not believing what was happening, but simply bowed to the audience with a smile on her face. Whatever she was now, she was going to do her best. She would do whatever it took to be a top idol and make her family proud.

* * *

"Cinderella Girl..." Mallory muttered once more as she sat in her seat backstage for the fourth time in a row, hearing the title ring in her ears. It sounded strange to her at first, but it actually started to have a nice ring to it after she thought about it. "Am I really like Cinderella?" Her story of how she had gotten to be an idol made sense; she wished and wished with all her might to be an idol, trying audition after audition to get in. If she was Cinderella, then wouldn't that make Saotome her fairy godmother? She simple gave a laugh, shaking her head as she thought of the mere thought of her boss in a dress and a wand. It made even more sense considering that her song had elements of Cinderella in it, the title even had the character's name in it. "Come to think of it, I even said in the song that I was Cinderella..." She gave a sigh as she looked at her outfit in the mirror, glancing at the bracelet that her teachers had gotten her. She inspected the colors delicately, her eyes stopping when it eyed the lavender colored jewel, and her mind flashed to this morning.

* * *

_"Ah! W-Where'd it go?!" Mallory said, looking around in a panic as she tried to figure out where her shoe had slipped off her foot. She stayed off her shoeless foot, leaning against the car to find her shoe, bending her leg lightly to keep it off the ground. She stopped however when she heard someone clear their throat, Mallory turning her head to see cyan colored eyes looking back at her, with his left hand holding her other shoe._

_ "You should be more careful when you're running down the stairs." He said, watching Mallory with a calculating gaze. Mallory gave a nervous laugh, scratching the back of her head nervously._

_ "S-Sorry, I was kind of in a rush that I didn't notice it had slipped off." She heard him give a simple sigh, before he kneeled down, Mallory giving a confused look. "Mikaze-senpai, what are you doing?"_

_ "I thought I told you to call me Ai from now on." He said, Mallory wincing lightly in forgetfulness. "Honestly, sometimes you can be so clumsy." He gently grasped her ankle as he gently slipped her flat back on, Mallory's face holding a complete look of embarrassment, her face an entire shade of dark red, feeling as if she was on fire._

_"I-I could do it myse-" She stopped when she saw Ai look up at her with a look simply conveying silence, and Mallory shut her mouth as soon as her eyes met his. Once he returned to his feet, she gave a nervous glance back at him, scratching her cheek lightly with her finger. "Thank you, Ai."_

* * *

Her face suddenly turned an entire shade of red as her face felt as if it was on fire, remembering what had happened that same morning. She fiddled with her fingers, giving a nervous glance at the bracelet once more, her heart beating fast. Why did this always happen when she thought of him? She got all weird and shy, and her heart always went faster when she got close to him, and her face would always go red when he looked at her with his cyan-colored eyes.

"Maybe I am a lot like Cinderella..." Mallory muttered to herself with a sigh. When she used her magic and her wish came true, she was as graceful and beautiful as all the others. But when her magic faded away, she would shy away and would return to the normal clumsy girl she always was.

And what was even more similar, was the feeling she got in her chest whenever she saw Ai. Cinderella felt that same way when she first met the prince in the story, but it couldn't be the same thing that she was thinking. What had happened that morning was just a coincidence, she was in a rush. Sure he had comforted her when he had seen her crying after the incident with Ranmaru, and Ai told her to call him by his first name from now on, but it didn't mean anything significant. Ai was just being a nice teacher to her, trying to be more supportive and friendly to her is all.

"I'm not...in love with Ai; I'm just imagining things..." Mallory trailed off, her voice soft as she looked down at her lap. Even as she said those words, her hands came huddled close to her chest, and her heart only beat faster at the words she spoke. She gave a solemn look as she looked at the mirror, a small frown coming to her face. "Besides, he would never like someone like me."

* * *

**Did you like the chapter? :D**

**I loved writing this because I got to show how much Mallory wanted this moment, I especially love writing the concert part where she got to sing on stage. I was listening to the song as i was writing it, and t gave me a lot of energy to type up her emotions and how she was so excited to see people like her song! **

**Now an announcement for the next chapters! For the next FOUR chapters of this story, they will be reader chosen! Yes! READER CHOSEN! These chapters will be revolving around Mallory and one of her teachers from Quartet Night after the concert, and the two will be going around the amusement Park and going on rides and simply bonding and talking about the experience at the concert!**

**I tried to figure out how I was going to do this, and there was some deliberating, but I decided that you readers will be choosing what the two will do, why I will chose which senpais will be in which chapters. If I let the readers/reviewers/guests choose everything, there would be too many combinations and nothing would get done in time. :(**

**So, onwards!**

**The First chapter will be with our lovable Oni-tan big brother figure, Reiji Kotobuki!**

**The choices for the rides/activity that Mallory and Reiji will go to will either be:**

**-Tunnel of Love**

**-Ferris Wheel**

**or**

**-Teacups**

**Choose wisely dear readers, because your choice will matter in the next chapter! Just send in your vote through a review and I'll tally them by the end of this week! Good luck and have fun choosing!**


	8. Having Fun in the Teacups

**Hey guys, here's the first chapter to the Amusement Park chapters! Up first is our lovable Oni-tan figure Reiji Kotobuki! All of you voted and chose, Tea-cups! I had fun writing this chapter with Reiji, and I hope you enjoy too!**

* * *

"You and I definitely need to hang out sometime! Maybe we can meet up somewhere around the park later and go on some rides!" Nami said with a grin, jumping lightly on her feet in anticipation. Mallory gave a laugh as the two talked, still in their concert outfits. The other girls had changed already and had gone off into the park, but the two were so wrapped up in their conversation that they didn't care.

"Yeah we can definitely do that! I going to be hanging out with a few of my friends though, so maybe we could meet up after and talk some more then?" Nami gave a grin, a thumbs up towards Mallory.

"You bet! You got my number right?" Mallory gave a nod, and Nami gave a grin back.

"Then I'll talk to you later and we'll meet. _Ja-ne_!" Nami waved goodbye as she made her way out of the back stage area to her changing room to get out of her clothes, as Mallory waved goodbye back to the girl. She should really change as well, but she was actually rather exhausted from the concert; maybe she could just take a small nap before meeting up with the others...

* * *

After getting a few winks of sleep backstage, the still rather exhausted Mallory changed into her clothes that she had brought with her to the park. She was told by the staff that after the concert, the girls would be free to enjoy the park for free, as well as get small perks for performing the concert.

"I wonder what they meant by that?" Mallory asked out loud to herself, settling her hat on top of her head as she walked out of the backstage area, making her way towards the entrance of the park. She took out her phone, fiddling with the buttons as she pressed them expertly, eyes scanning the screen in front of her. She had gotten a text from Ai that him and the rest of the group would be at the entrance of the park waiting for her, but as she looked from her screen to the area around her, she saw none of them in view. She blinked in confusion, looking around, seeing groups of kids running around, as well as couples and families; but no Quartet Night, STARISH, Haruka or Tomochika. "Where is everyone?" She muttered to herself, scratching her head lightly in confusion, her hat sliding off her head lightly from the action.

"Hey, isn't that Mallory Nakagawa?"

"Oh, your right! She was the one with the crown and pink dress!"

"Mommy look, it's the Cinderella Girl!" Mallory heard people talk and whisper among themselves as they saw her, and before she knew it, a small crowd of people had surrounded her, taking pictures of her or asking for autograph. They praised her and congratulated her for her first live, wishing her good luck and best wishes, which touched Mallory deeply, but it was rather distracting when a bunch of people were surrounding her.

"U-Uh, thank you, but I'm waiting for some of my friends-" Mallory couldn't get a word out from her nerves coming back, not sure how to handle a situation like this. What was she supposed to do exactly? Her training hadn't exactly prepared her for such an encounter, and it was proving to be tougher then she had imagined.

"_A-Ano_, excuse me; coming through!" Mallory heard a loud struggled voice, as some people were pushed lightly aside to show a tall male figure wearing a plain black shirt covered by a green short-sleeved button up shirt and jeans. She gave a small gasp as she saw the male, trying to get a good look at him, seeing the familiar tuft of brown hair and grey eyes.

"Rei-chan!" Mallory exclaimed, waving to the male as he looked over, giving a grin as he squeezed through the crowd of people once more, before making it to Mallory in one piece, almost tripping when he had gotten to her. He gave a nervous smile, looking around at the crowd with his hands on his hips.

"Didn't expect this, huh?" Mallory gave a shake of her head as she gave a nervous laugh, Reiji giving a nervous shrug of his shoulders, laughing lightly. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it!" Before Mallory could even ask what he had meant by that, Reiji turned away from her to look at the crowd of people.

"Sorry everyone, but Nakagawa-san will be busy at the moment. She'll be back at the amphitheater with the other guests in a few hours to take pictures and give autographs, so make sure to come by than!" The crowd, their mood sightly crushed when the found that they couldn't approach Mallory right away, soon dispersed as Mallory watched, giving a look of amazement.

"Rei-chan how did you do that so fast? I couldn't even speak to one person without getting all shy!" Reiji gave a grin to Mallory, looking at his student as he laughed.

"You just gotta be assertive is all! You'll get the hang of it in no time!" Mallory gave a nod to Reiji, but glanced behind him, looking around as she gave a confused look. Reiji noticed this, and gave an apologetic look. "Ah, sorry about that, Haruka, Tomochika and STARISH had to go back to the dorms for an assignment, and the others are around here somewhere. They told me to meet up with you and find something for us to do until they show up!"

"Oh," Mallory said, giving a small shrug, "well, what do you want to do then?" Reiji gave a noise of thought, looking around the amusement park. "Why not walk around for a bit? If we see something that catches our eye, we'll go on it!" Mallory gave a nod, liking the idea of the plan. "Alright! Let's head out then!"

* * *

"You looked like you were having a lot of fun on stage." Reiji said with a smile, as Mallory gave a small laugh.

"I really was; I was really nervous at first, you saw it happen," she gave a smile, "but when got over it, I had so much fun. I wish I could do it over again and again." Reiji gave a laugh, hands in his pockets as the two walked side by side.

"Don't worry Mal-chan, you'll get to do all kinds of more lives in the future!" Mallory gave a grin, getting excited over the mere fact of going back on stage again. It was so exhilarating for her, she wanted to experience it as much as possible. As the two continued to walk, Mallory's attention was diverted to the small amusement park games that people were playing, and one caught her eye; well, the prize caught her eye. The game was a simple milk bottle game, throw a baseball at the three bottle tower and win the prize.

"Hey Rei-chan, could we do that real quick?" She motioned towards the game and Reiji gave a smile, giving nod.

"Sure, why not? Could be fun!" Mallory gave a grin, and practically ran over to the booth as she settled in front, the vendor giving the girl a smile.

"Since you sung at the Idol Festival concert, you get one free try!" She said with a smile, handing Mallory a ball as she gave a smile. Mallory looked at the tower, getting ready as she threw the ball with all her might, the ball going fast, but not fast enough. The ball hit the first bottle of the tower, but the other two stayed on the platform. "Aww." Mallory groaned, her face casting a small frown.

"Let me try!" Reiji said with a smile, patting Mallory's shoulder lightly as he paid money for a try, holding the baseball in his hand. After the tower was stacked again, he took a moment to aim before he threw the ball, hitting the tower dead on. The tower fell, and the vendor rang a small bell.

"We have a winner!" She announced as Mallory looked at Reiji with surprise.

"How'd you do that?" Malloy asked, wondering how Reiji could win on his first try. Reiji gave a bashful smile, shrugging.

"Luck I guess. I used to play these games all the time when I went the parks as a kid, so I guess I'm still kind of good at it." The young vendor held up a small teddy bear for the two to see, setting a small box down on to the counter. She opened it, revealing a bunch of different colored ribbons.

"Since you won, you get to choose which colored ribbon your teddy bear gets!" Mallory looked at all the colors, not sure what to choose.

"Reiji you can choose, you won." She gave a small smile, as the male looked at all the colors, before picking a pale pink color, as the woman began to tie the ribbon around the teddy bears neck, cutting it before handing it to Reiji.

"Here's your prize sir," Reiji took the small bear as the woman gave a smile, "I hope your girlfriend likes it!" Mallory jumped lightly as her face turned red, a look of embarrassment on her face.

"I-I'm not-"

"Thank you! I'm sure she will!" Before Mallory could correct the woman, Reiji had wrapped an arm around Mallory's neck, dragging her along with another one of his goofy grins. After the two were back on the right path of the rides, Reiji gave a small laugh.

"How come people always think we're a couple?" Mallory groaned, an embarrassed look on her face.

"Who knows? Maybe they think we look cute together!" Reiji gave a laugh as he pat Mallory's head. Mallory gave a small moan of embaressment, as Reiji laughed once more, before handing his student the small prize. "For you." Mallory stopped walking as she looked at the small teddy bear in Reiji's hand, before taking it softly.

"You didn't have to. You won this Rei-chan." Reiji gave a small chuckle, looking at the prize.

"I saw the way you were looking at it when you told me about the game. Besides, the ribbon is in your color, not mine. Just think of it as a congratulations gift for having your first live." Mallory looked at the teddy bear, before giving a small smile back at her teacher.

"Thank you, Rei-chan." Reiji gave a kind smile back, before he saw a ride that caught his eye.

"Oooh, let's go on that Mal-chan!" Mallory turned to see what Reiji had looked at, seeing the ride in view; spinning teacups. She blinked a few times, watching people spin and laugh and have a fun time.

"Rei-chan, why that ride in particular; no offense, but aren't you a bit ol-" She turned as she asked Reiji but found that he had disappeared. "Huh? Reiji?"

"Mal-chan, over here!" She turned when she head his voice calling for her, turning back around only to see that he had gotten in line for the ride. She gave a small sigh, seeing his goofy grin as he called to her rather loudly, flamboyantly waving his arms around as some people around him gave him strange looks as they passed. Her face went red again as she took a breath, but looked at the small teddy bear in her hands. A small smile crept on to her face as she followed after Reiji, getting into the line with no complaint. Reiji may have been a goofball, but he was her goofball.

* * *

"Are you ready to have fun, Mal-chan?" Reiji said as the two got settled in the teacup, Mallory giving a small nod as she gave a smile to Reiji, laughing

"I think so; to be honest, I never really went to many amusement parks when I was a kid, so I'm not really familiar with the rides." Reiji gave a surprised look, eyes widened.

"Eh? Really? Isn't it normal for kids to go to amusement parks when they were kids? I went all the time with my family when I was younger, and I always had so much fun!" Mallory gave a small smile, her expression turning sullen when she thought back.

"I wished I could, but I never really got to go with my whole family after my mother had gotten sick." Mallory gave a small frown, holding the teddy bear lightly in her arms, "After my mom passed away, my dad was never really as happy as he was before. He had changed, and so did my older sister. After that, my older sister became an idol and was always busy, so I never got to go to the amusement park with my whole family, because most of them were busy or not all of them were there." Mallory began to recall a certain time when her family had all been together to go, a smile coming to her face, her eyes giving a gentle look. "But when we all went together, it was really fun. My older sister and I would always argue about who would get to go on what, and who would get to ride with our mother."

* * *

_"No, I want to ride with mom!" A seven-year old Mallory exclaimed, giving an annoyed look to her older sister Emi, who was a few inches taller than her, giving a glare back._

_"No, I get to ride with mom because I'm the oldest!" An eleven-year old Emi barked back, holding on to her mother's hand in retaliation. She stuck her tongue out at her younger sister as Mallory gave an annoyed huff, as their mother simply gave a sigh at the two._

_"Both of you don't fight." She said to the two, and the two stopped for the moment, not wanting to make their mother angry. "Why not have both of you ride with me? You can both fit." The girls gave an annoyed look at each other, but both ultimately agreed as each daughter took one of their mother's hand, dragging her towards the teacup ride. Both were excited and wanted to have fun, but most of all they wanted to have fun with their mother._

_"I get to turn the wheel!" Emi exclaimed as she ran towards the nearest cup, Mallory gasping as she ran after her sister._

_"No fair, I wanna do it too!"_

* * *

"Your mom sounds like she was a very big part of your guy's life." Reiji mentioned as Mallory gave a smile, nodding.

"Both myself and my sister loved her very much, we adored her as children, and we still do. She may be gone, but I know she's watching us still to this day." Mallory gave a sad smile, shrugging lightly. "I wish she could be here with me now and see how far I've gotten."

"Mmm, I didn't mean to bring up something so personal; I'm sorry Mal-chan." Mallory looked up at Reiji as she gave another smile, her expression turning to a much happier one.

"It's ok Rei-chan, even if my mom is gone, I'm meeting new people and creating new memories. Besides, I get to experience the amusement park again, but with someone new! I'm sure I'll have as much fun as I had when I was younger!" Reiji gave a grin, giving a determined look.

"I'll give you a great time here and help you create new memories, I promise!" Mallory gave a chuckle at her teachers expression, before her attention turned to a bell that rung, signaling the start of the ride. The platforms under the cups began to move, beginning to move all the teacups in a circle, as Reiji bounced in his seat excitedly, hands grasping the wheel between himself and Mallory.

"Let's get to spinning!" Reiji exclaimed, the grin never leaving his face as he began to turn the wheel inside the teacup, starting them off as they began to turn lightly. Mallory simply watched, holding onto her teddy bear, not wanting to disturb Reiji's moment as she smiled. With a grin, Reiji let go of the wheel as the teacup spun them around, simply laughing as he held his hands up in the air. Mallory simply watched her teacher have the time of his life, seeing him smile and laugh his heart out as she simply gave a calm smile, glad that he was having fun. It was rather odd to see him so happy and enjoying himself while she was acting like the more mature one, considering she was younger than him.

"I guess it's just the way he is." Mallory muttered to herself, starting to feel herself get dizzy by the ride. She heard Reiji laugh more and more as she began to laugh as well, simply drunk on the atmosphere that he possessed; he always managed to make her smile even when she was trying to be mature of serious, giving a joke or teasing her to lighten the mood. She appreciated it, knowing that he cared for her well-being. He truly was a great teacher, and an even greater friend.

"Mal-chan, after this we should get something to eat!" Mallory gave another smile as she gave a nod of her head, as the two continued laughing together on the ride. After they would eat and wait for the others to get there so they could all hang out and have fun.

* * *

"You still look a little dizzy." Reiji mentioned as he gave a small smile, watching Mallory wobble lightly on her feet, hanging on to Reiji's arm for support. "Guess I went a little overboard, huh?"

"No you didn't; I just get dizzy easily is all. Even if you went overboard, I had fun." Mallory said with a small laugh, her vision starting to return to normal as she held her teddy bear in her arms. "I guess we find something to eat now. Where do you wanna go?"

"Hmm, I saw a vendor selling crepes, why not that?" Reiji asked, remembering the small booth that sold the treats near the front of the park. Mallory gave a nod, the sound of the sweet food making her mouth almost water in anticipation.

"Yeah, let's get that!" The two agreed and made their way to the front of the park, before ordering their crepes and finding a seat. Mallory had gotten a plain sweet crêpe with chocolate sauce and whipped crème, while Reiji had gotten a crêpe with chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream, strawberries and sprinkles.

"Let's dig in!" Reiji exclaimed with a grin as he was about to eat, but stopped when he heard his phone alarm go off. He set his crêpe own in the small holder that was provided at the table, taking out his phone as he flipped it open, pushing buttons to go to his messages. "Aww, now?"

"Something wrong?" Mallory asked curiously to Reiji, as he gave a small frown, looking up from his phone.

"STARISH needs my help with something at the dorm and it can't wait; I'm gonna have to leave you now." Mallory gave a small frown, watching as Reiji got to his feet, a disappointed look on his face. "I had a great time with you Mal-chan; we should do it again more often!" Mallory gave a small smile, giving a nod as Reiji typed in a number, giving a wink to Mallory before he heard the caller on the other line pick up. "Hey! Mal-chan and I are at the crêpe shop, the one at the front of the park. Could you meet her there and stay with her? Why? STARISH needs me back at the dorms that's why. It'll only be for an hour or two. Have fun!" Reiji ended the call before settling his phone away, giving a grin to Mallory. "Someone will be here to keep you company in a few minutes, so now it's my turn to be off! See you back at the dorms Mal-chan!" Reiji waved goodbye to his student, taking his crêpe with him as Mallory gave a small wave goodbye, sitting alone at her table. She set her crêpe in the holder as well, taking out the teddy bear that Reiji had gotten her, a small smile on her face.

"I wonder who's gonna be coming over?" She asked herself quietly, swaying her legs lightly under the chair she sat in. She was sad that Reiji had to go so soon, but she was more curious as to who would be taking his place. As she continued to wait, she began to eat her crêpe with a small smile, happy that she could have a sweet treat while she was waiting.

"Geeze, Reiji needs to give better directions then just 'in front of the park'." An annoyed voice said near Mallory, as she turned to see a look of annoyance on a pair of grey and purple eyes. She recognized him immediately, and gave an annoyed look back at the male, noticing his rather unenthusiastic expression.

"You're finally here." She said, watching Ranmaru as he gave a glance at the crêpe she was eating before looking back at her.

"You know you shouldn't eat that all by yourself; you'll get fat." Mallory twitched in irritation at the remark as she gave a glare towards Ranmaru, her face tinged red at the comment. Why did he feel the need to always be so brutally honest to her when she just wanted to have a good time?

* * *

**Sorry if this chapter was a bit short. It just basically depends on what my mind can come up with for the chapter at the time, and that's all it could come up with. I hope you guys liked it though, and more will be coming on the way!**

**Now the next senpai, as you could tell from the end of this chapter, is our dear Tsundere himself, Ranmaru Kurosaki!**

**The ride choices that will be for the next chapter will be either:**

**-Roller Coaster**

**or**

**-Haunted House**

**I'm secretly hoping for Haunted House, but it's up to you dear readers! Make your choice in a review and tell me how I did on the chapter! Any comments on the story or what you think of it can also be put in a review!**

**Reviews=Love!**

**The voting for the next chapter will end in three days due to myself being off for the next 6 days of work! So cats in your votes as soon as possible and I'll get to writing it!**


	9. Memories of the Haunted House

**Hey guys! Oh my god I haven't updated in the longest time; it's already August! I'm sooooooo sorry I haven't updated in so long, I've been busy with work and school is coming up again so I have to get ready for that too! I hope I can try to update as best and as fast as I possibly can, but it may take sometime when school gets in the way.**

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter though!**

* * *

"What's with you and always insulting me?" Mallory asked with a pout, a glare on her face as she looked at the silver-haired male in front of her. He gave a small scoff, taking the seat at the table and pulling it out, before settling himself in it as he glanced at Mallory.

"I wasn't insulting you; I'm just telling you you'll get fat if you eat it all; It's more of a concerned suggestion from your teacher." Mallory gave a skeptical look from Ranmaru, simply hearing the words that were coming from his mouth. Concerned suggestion? That was the biggest lie she had ever heard from him, ever.

"You're not concerned for my well-being!" Mallory said with an annoyed huff, pointing her spoon accusingly at Ranmaru. "Every time I say hello to you, you just brush me off every time, and last time we had dance practice I tripped and fell and you laughed!" Ranmaru gave a small scoff, folding his arms across his chest as he listened to his student bicker and complain; it was rather annoying.

"Oh don't worry, I care what happens to you, in my own special way of course." Ranmaru said, though with obvious amounts of sarcasm in his voice as he plucked the spoon out of Mallory's hand, before taking a spoon full of the ice cream from her crêpe before eating it without any remorse, as Mallory gave a shocked look at Ranmaru.

"W-What are you doing?! That's mine!" Ranmaru glanced Mallory's way and simply watched her complain once again, swallowing before giving a glare her way.

"Why are you complaining? If I eat this with you, you won't gain so much weight. Idols need to watch their figure, remember?" Mallory simply fumed as she watched her teacher eat the food that Reiji had gotten her, simply growling as he continued to eat the crêpe, without a care in the world as she quickly snatched the spoon back from the male idol.

"If you want your own, go buy it!" Mallory exclaimed back to Ranmaru with a glare as she began to take some ice cream in the spoon, eating the sweet treat with a glare towards Ranmaru who gave a glare back to Mallory. The two were in silence for a few minutes, before Ranmaru gave a scoff at the girl once more, muttering something about Reiji and something being stupid. She gave a suspicious look towards her senpai, wondering what he was muttering about, but stopped when he looked back at her. The two had a small stare down for a few moments, before she looked around.

"Where are Camus-senpai and Ai?" Malory asked, wondering where her other teachers were. She thought that they would be with Ranmaru when they came over so she could at least see all of them, but it wasn't the case apparently.

"They had something to do back with Saotome when he was still at the park; something about a new song that Haruka is writing for them," Ranmaru looked at Mallory though when he heard her speak, "What's with the sudden disrespect?" Mallory gave a confused look towards Ranmaru, before he gave an annoyed sigh. "You called Mikaze by his first name." Her eyes widened lightly, looking at Ranmaru with a calm expression as she continued to eat her crêpe.

"He told me to call him Ai from now on, simple as that." Though it wasn't really as simple as Mallory had put it; every time the two talked, it felt awkward for her, and she always got this weird feeling in her chest when she was alone with him. She had suspicions that she may actually like Ai, but that was just stupid to think. She barely knew anything about him other than the information he had given her, and they rarely hung out. Well, if doing what he asked counted for anything then it would, but it didn't, and Mallory knew that. Besides, she was sure that he didn't like her that way; what guy would?

"Seems weird of him." Ranmaru mentioned, looking at Mallory suspiciously. "You didn't do anything weird, did you?" Mallory gave a glare towards Ranmaru, an annoyed look towards the male.

"Why automatically put blame on me?" She asked, eating more of the crêpe, "Maybe Mikaze-senpai wants us to be friends, ever thought of that?" They were friends, Mallory noted, remembering the conversation they had a day ago. Ranmaru snickered, the statement rather funny to him as Mallory gave a look of confusion.

"Ai never does anything to make friends; he would rather just keep to his work then hang out with a girl, especially with someone like you." Mallory gave a glare once more to Ranmaru, her spoon midway through the crêpe.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The statement rather ticked Mallory off, but secretly it also hurt; why would Ai not want to be friends with her?

"Ai is a very serious guy; he keeps to his work and is harsh with teaching his students. Why would he even bother wanting to hang out with his student and have fun when he has work to do? And to add to that, you're his assistant, it's not like you two can hang out and have fun anytime you please." Mallory gave a frown a she heard Ranmaru's words, looking at him.

"I guess..." She muttered, leaving her spoon in the crêpe she was eating, suddenly no longer in the mood to eat anything. She gave a downcast look at the ground, slumping in her chair lightly as Ranmaru simply began to eat the rest of the crêpe that Mallory had stopped eating, not noticing that the words he had said hurt her inside. If Ai didn't want to hang out with her, then what chance was there of Ai actually wanting to be friends with her? Did he say that they were only friends just to make her happy? She didn't know; Ai was always so blunt and honest, it was sometimes hard for her to understand whether he meant something at heart or not. She'd never seen him joke around, crack a smile, or even laugh; he was always the blank, stoic idol she knew him to be ever since they had met. Her thoughts paused when she glanced at Ranmaru, seeing him throw away the trash that was left from the crêpe.

"Come on, get up." Mallory looked up to see Ranmaru waiting on her, noticing what exactly he was wearing. A black long-sleeved shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans; simple enough for someone like him.

"Where are we going?" She asked, trying to quell the current mood she was in after what her teacher had told her.

"You said that you wanted to go around the park with us, right?" Ranmaru asked, a small scowl on his face. "That's what we're doing." Mallory gave a small frown at Ranmaru's expression, but got to her feet anyways, watching the male.

"Alright, where to first?" She asked, wondering to herself why Ranmaru was even here; she could tell that he didn't want to be here, and she could obviously tell that he wasn't exactly the type of person that liked amusement parks.

"You just lead the way, I'll follow." Ranmaru grunted, with Mallory giving a small frown, but agreeing as she began to walk, with Ranmaru close behind.

* * *

"You've been quiet for the past hour." Ranmaru stated towards Mallory, watching the girl in front of him, looking at all the people and rides that she passed by, a frown on her face. The words that Ranmaru had said to her still hurt, and she hadn't said anything since. Ranmaru gave an annoyed growl, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he continued to walk. "We should just go on something already, we're wasting time by just walking around."

"You got any bright ideas?" Mallory asked with a small growl, glancing back at Ranmaru with a glare. He stopped when he saw her glare, giving one back to her.

"What's your problem?" He demanded, looking at Mallory with a scowl as she turned around to look back at her teacher. She simply gave a look that conveyed annoyance, but didn't say anything. She simply folded her arms across her chest, turning away from Ranmaru.

"Nothing."

"That's crap and you know it." Mallory huffed once more, before she saw Ranmaru walk in front of her, leering down at her with another one of his famous scowls, hands in in pockets. Mallory gave a small sigh, before looking at Ranmaru.

"What you said," she started, "it hurt yet you said it like it was no big deal." Ranmaru gave a confused look, before giving a scoff.

"You mean what I said before, about you and Mikaze?" Ranmaru questioned, shaking his head. "You should just get over that already, it's true and you know it." Mallory gave a huff, the glare still on her face. "Why are you so held up on that?" She looked away from Ranmaru, because in truth, she wasn't really sure either. Why was she so hung up on it? She shouldn't, but it nagged at her at the back of her mind, like an itch that couldn't be scratched no matter how hard she tried. She wanted to get to know her teachers and be friends with them, but with Ai...it felt different. Sure they talked when they had work and got along fine, but she always felt strange around him, always getting nervous or feeling shy when he looked her way, her heart racing and beating a mile a minute. Ranmaru watched Mallory glare at him, but saw that her look of anger turned into a look of hesitant uncertainty. He studied her for a few moments, his eyes narrowing in concentration, before it went back to a look of annoyance.

"Whatever; it's not like I care." Mallory looked back at Ranmaru, an annoyed look coming to her face as well, but she gave a sigh. They needed to get on some other subject fast.

"What do you want to do then?" She asked, wondering what exactly he had planned for the two of them. They hadn't been on anything at it had already been an hour and a half of just walking in awkward silence. "We've walked for a while, I thought you had some idea of what we'd be doing."

"Hey, I only came here cause Reiji called me, that's it." Ranmaru said back with a small growl, looking around for something to occupy the two's time. His grey and purple eyes scanned the area until it locked onto something in the distance, beginning to walk towards it as Mallory followed, confused.

"Where are we going?" Mallory asked, a bit annoyed that Ranmaru began walking without even telling her to follow him,, but she pushed it aside. As the two walked, Mallory's vision caught sight of a building within the amusement park, and her whole body froze as she saw what exactly Ranmaru had decided for the two to go on.

Well, more like walk through.

"That good enough for you?" Ranmaru asked, looking at the dark and haunted look building that resided near the end of the park. The two stood in front of the building as creepy music and sounds of thunder clapped through the air, as other amusement park goers listened to screams of terror and fear from the attraction.

"U-Uh..." Mallory was speechless, not wanting to recall the memories that had happened within this very ride. Haunted Houses were fun on some occasions when you had friends with you, but for Mallory, it was anything but fun.

* * *

_"E-Emi, I don't know if I wanna go on this ride..." Once again, the young seven-year old Mallory looked at the scary haunted house that was in the amusement park, while her older sister Emi simply grinned wide at it. _

_ "Don't worry, I'll be there to get rid of all the monsters that come out! It'll be fun; then after we can tell mom all about it!" Mallory gave a frown, still hesitant, but her sister was always so convincing; maybe it would be fun?_

_ "A-Alright." She reluctantly agreed, as Emi cheered, before she began to tug her younger sister along into the haunted house. The rooms were dark as Mallory clung to her older sister for protection, hearing screams of monsters and she screamed as well, her eyes shut tight as things jumped out to scare them. Her feet were moving in small inches, shaking uncontrollably as she tripped and fell, scrapping her knees as she opened her eyes to find her sister. "Emi? EMI!" She cried and cried as tears fell down her cheeks, as she heard her sister giggle._

_ "Mallory's a scaredy-cat!" She heard her sister tease her as she laughed, Mallory simply sniffling as she cried more tears, glaring as she hear her sister's voice._

_ "I-I am not!" She exclaimed, though hearing the loud boom of thunder made her cry and yell, shutting her eyes tightly as she dared not move. In the end, a worker was forced to take Mallory out of the ride with her mother waiting for her, as her older sister Emi simply watched her with a conniving grin on her face._

* * *

"Come on, you're staring off into space." Mallory blinked when she heard a voice and looked at Ranmaru, seeing him glare at her. "Are we going or not?" Mallory gave a hesitant look, swallowing lightly as she glanced away form the attraction.

"Uh, why not try something else?" Ranmaru gave a questioning look at Mallory, glancing her way.

"You're the one that was complaining about not going on anything, and now the first thing I choose you don't want to do." He watched her, a small smirk coming to his lips. "You're not scared, are you?" Mallory jumped lightly, a glare coming to her face. She never liked being called a scaredy-cat or a coward by her sister, and she still didn't tolerate it to this day; it always made her so mad.

"N-No, of course not!" Mallory exclaimed back at Ranmaru, seeing his smug smirk as he looked back at the haunted house.

"Then come on already." Ranmaru commanded, beginning to walk to the attraction as Mallory stayed rooted to her spot, simply looking at the building in hesitation. It's not like there was anything scary in there; it was made for children, she could handle it after all these years. She gave a breath, before beginning to walk towards the attraction along with Ranmaru, but she couldn't deny the shaking in her legs the moment she got to the doors.

* * *

Her breath immediately hitched in her throat when the two entered the haunted house, seeing the many decorations and fake zombie figures to scare little children. It was something to enjoy and have fun with, but Mallory wasn't having any at the moment.

"Are you gonna move?" Ranmaru asked, more in an annoyed voice rather than one of concern, and Mallory gave a shaky glare back at the male.

"O-Of course I am!" Mallory exclaimed, but her heart kept beating faster and she wanted it to slow down. She began taking small steps, walking through the halls of the haunted house, jumping when she heard loud screams from the music that played within the attraction, but she kept going due to the annoyed pushing by Ranmaru. "J-Just wait ok? I'm not going to rush through this."

"You're taking forever. How long does it take you to walk down a hallway?" He asked with an annoyed glare. Mallory simply gave a frown back at Ranmaru, turning away from him as she looked down the dark corridor. She couldn't see anything in the hallway and it scared her, but she gave a glance back at Ranmaru. She just wanted to get this over with before he started to complain to her again, so she took another shaky breath, before beginning her slow walk once more.

_"I-It's all fake. Remember Mallory, none of it is real."_ She thought to herself, tying to make herself feel better, but it wasn't exactly doing it's job when scary horror music and fake thunder was crashing through her eardrums.

"You're scared of this." Ranmaru pointed out, seeing Mallory shake in her footsteps as she continued, her eyes darting everywhere to make sure nothing snuck up on her. She gave a small growl as she heard Ranmaru again, turning to face him.

"Y-Yeah so what?" Her voice broke slightly as she gave nervous glare back at her teacher, her hands curled into fists as she tried to calm her nerves. "So I'm afraid, it's not like-"

_BOOM!_

"AHHH!" A loud crash of thunder reverberated through the haunted house as Mallory screamed, jumping from the sudden noise. Within a half a minute, she was clinging to Ranmaru, hands grasping the front of his shirt as her face was buried into his chest, eyes shut tight to block out any other scary images.

"H-Hey, get off-" He was going to yell at her, but stopped when he noticed how scared she actually was. Her entire body was shaking, and he could feel wet spots on his shirt; she was so scared that she had actually began to cry. He shut his mouth, glancing away from Mallory as the music and sound effects continued to fill the hallway they were in, before he hesitantly wrapped his arms around Mallory for support.

"Y-You'll be ok." He stuttered to her, his face a shade of pink as he did so. Mallory still had her face buried in his chest, but after a few moments, gave a small nod, her hands beginning to loosen her grip on his shirt. Ranmaru took his hands away from Mallory, as she set her shaking hands down, wiping her tears before she felt Ranmaru take her hand slowly, and surprisingly, he was gentle. "Come on, let's get out of here." He said, pulling Mallory along behind him as her eyes were still shut tight, but despite the fear she still felt, she wasn't shaking anymore. The only thing she could focus on was how gentle Ranmaru's hand was in hers.

* * *

After the two had finally made their way out of the haunted house, they stopped by a bench as Mallory sat down, rubbing her arms in order to get the chills running up her spine to stop.

"T-Thanks." Mallory said to Ranmaru, albeit a bit embarrassed, her face red from remembering what she had exactly done. She glanced away from him as Ranmaru gave an annoyed huff back, folding his arms across his chest, though the shade of pink never left his cheeks.

"Just don't do it again." He said back to the brown-haired girl, giving a small sound of confusion when he felt his phone in his pocket vibrate. He took it out and pushed a button, before putting the device to his ear.

"What is it?" He answered, still in his annoyed tone as he turned away from Mallory. "Now? Fine, I'll be there in a few minutes." He pushed a button as the call ended, turning back to look at Mallory. "I have to get back to the Dorms. Someone will be here soon." Mallory gave a small nod, before giving a nervous glance at the male.

"I-I had fun." She stuttered out; despite the initial fear she had in the haunted house, she couldn't help but smile when they were walking together. Maybe it was just because she was getting over her fear little by little, or maybe it was because he was there with her and not getting annoyed with her for once. Whatever it was, she couldn't help but let a smile come to her face.

"You call that fun?" Ranmaru asked, giving a scoff as he turned away, Mallory giving a small frown at his attitude once more. He took a breath, before glancing back Mallory's way, the annoyed look on his face gone, and instead a small, barely noticeable smile on his lips.

"But...yeah it was." Mallory perked up lightly as she looked back at Ranmaru, her smile genuine as Ranmaru gave a lazy wave goodbye to her, before making his way out of the amusement park.

* * *

"I wonder who's coming over this time..." Mallory trailed off as she sat at a table nearby the front of the park, eating a scoop of vanilla ice cream. She watched people walk around with friends and family, having a fun time as she remembered her short time with Ranmaru. He could be a jerk sometimes, but he could also be kind. "When he wants to be..." Mallory trailed off, giving a small glare as she remembered all the other times he was a jerk to her, but she let those thoughts be pushed aside. He was beginning to be nicer, even if it was taking a while. She gave a small smile, glancing at her spoon for a few moments. A thought came to her mind for a few moments, before a sour look came to her face.

"Ew, I used the same spoon as Ranmaru." She complained, giving a look of childish disgust as she stuck her tongue out. She had never noticed or had even thought about it at the time due to the two bickering when she had taken the spoon back. She shook her head, taking a spoon full of ice cream to try to get the thought to disappear from her mind, when she noticed a familiar figure within the crowds, with another man next to him as they made their way over to her.

"Camus-senpai, Nakagawa-san is over here." A young voice said, the man walking over to greet Mallory, a small smile on his face.

"Oh, you're...Cecil, correct?" Mallory asked, remembering the names of the STARISH members from Haruka; they had recently gotten a new member added to the group, which meant she had to make another costume eventually. The dark-skinned male gave a nod, a smile gracing his lips.

"It's nice to meet you Nakagawa-san, I really enjoyed your song that you sang on stage." Mallory gave a sheepish smile, her face blushing lightly.

"Oh, thank you Aijima-san."

"Cecil, shouldn't you be back at the dorms along with the rest of STARISH?" Camus asked, looking at his student with a commanding stare towards the male. Cecil gave a small groan, but gave a nod. He turned back to Mallory with a smile, waving goodbye to her.

"I hope we can talk more. I'll be back at the dorm with everyone else, so we can then." Mallory gave a small nod, smiling as she waved goodbye to Cecil as he ran off, leaving Mallory and Camus.

"It's good to see you, Camus-senpai."

* * *

**Wow, sorry again about this update took freaking forever! DX**

**Anyways, onto our next senpai of Quartet Night, our dear serious and calm Camus-senpai!**

**The choices that reviewers will choose will be either:**

**House of Mirrors**

**or**

**Carousel**

**You guys get to choose so make your choice count and choose wisely, what you end up choosing may be the next in the chapter! We're almost getting done with the amusement park short stories, and I hope you're all enjoying it! I'm especially excited for Ai's chapter, which will be the next one right after Camus! Until next time, see you guys soon!**

**PS: Voting ends in three days!**


	10. Melancholy Carousel

**I bet you guys are glad it didn't take me a whole month to update this chapter, right? XD**

**I know I'm glad! This chapter is with Camus-senpai, and the votes all pointed to the carousel ride! I hope you all enjoy it!**

* * *

"I'm apologize for being late, Saotome was discussing a new cd single with myself and Mikaze. Apparently both of us will be doing a collaboration with another idol, but they haven't discussed who it would be with." Mallory jumped up in surprise, her eyes showing a look of confusion.

"Really? But isn't that a bit confusing to not tell you; if you're doing a collaboration with someone, it would be best to know who it is to get along with them when you do the photo shoots and such." Camus simply gave a small shrug, sitting down next to Mallory at the table as the two watched the many guests walk around the park and enjoy themselves.

"Whatever Saotome wants, we must oblige him; he is the founder of the company, and of Quartet Night. We promised him that whatever he orders we would follow, and this particular project is no exception." Mallory was silent, but gave a small nod, fiddling with her fingers in her lap. "You were rather nervous on stage." Mallory swallowed lightly, glancing away from Camus as she gave a small nod of her head.

"Y-Yeah. Just some things that people said got to me; I know that I should ignore that kind of stuff, but..." She gave a frown, her voice faltering to the point that she just stopped talking all together. She gave a small sigh, feeling a cool breeze blow by her and Camus, moving her bangs out of her eyes to distract herself.

"It's alright if you get nervous during your first live, it's normal. However you are correct, you should try your best to ignore what people say about you or else it will only distract you." Mallory gave a small nod to Camus, giving a small thanks. She glanced around though, turning to look back at Camus with a wondering gaze.

"Um...where's Mikaze-senpai?" Camus glanced at Mallory, shifting in his chair to get comfortable.

"Mikaze wanted to talk to Saotome about releasing a single of his own; he had some songs written and wants to know if he could publish a solo single soon." Mallory gave a small nod, but had secretly hoped that Ai would be with Camus. It was already around two-thirty, and eventually she would have to get back to the amphitheater to do the photo shoot for the IDOL START Fan Book that they would publish on the concert.

"Oh." Mallory simply answered back, simply shuffling her feet lightly against the ground as she glanced away, not sure what exactly to do. "Um, would you like to go on any rides, Camus-senpai?" He gave a small shake of his head, giving a small look of unpleasantness as he glanced around.

"I'm not used to this kind of environment; amusement parks aren't usually the place that I situate myself in. I'd rather prefer sitting back the dorms in a quiet space and simply drink tea." Mallory gave a small frown, looking at Camus.

"If you'd like, you could go back to the dorms if you'd like. I know that you told Ranmaru that you would keep me company, but if you don't want to be here, it's alright with me." Camus looked back at his student, folding his arms across his chest as he shook his head.

"That would be rude of me; I came to spend time with you as congratulations for your first live concert, jus like all of us have. It would be rude of me to simply leave you here by yourself until Mikaze showed up. You and I will simply need to find something to do until then." He looked around for a few moments, before getting to his feet, turning to glance at Mallory as he held his hand out politely for Mallory to take. "We will start by looking suitable for the both of us to enjoy until I must leave, it's only fair." Mallory gave a small smile at Camus as she took his hand softly, thanking him as he helped her to her feet, before the two began to walk around the park, hoping to find something to occupy themselves.

* * *

"Another thing you could do would be to take time to calm yourself before going on stage. Even though you're nervous, you'll be doing more live concerts in he future. Choking on stage wouldn't exactly help the situation." Camus had decided that while the two find something to do, that he would give advice to his dear student. Mallory agreed, saying that she would need all the help she could get after what had happened, not wanting it to happen again in the near future.

"Reiji told me that you have an older sister; does she know that you had a live?" Mallory gave a look of thought, giving a confused look.

"I'm not exactly sure. I texted her telling her that I had one, but I'm not sure if she got the message. I also tried calling her earlier, but no one answered. She must have been pretty busy though, she always was when I was younger."

"I remember you mentioning that she was an idol as well, and a high-ranking one at that." Mallory gave a nod to her teacher, her face showing a look of thought, beginning to reminisce of the days when she was younger.

"Despite the two of us always getting on each others nerves when I was younger, I wanted to be an idol like she did, and I wanted to show people what I could do. When I was a kid, I didn't really have any special talents or anything that made me special." Mallory gave a small smile however, her hands coming to lace together behind her back as the two walked. "But once I saw what my sister did, I knew that maybe I could do it too. Even if it took years, I wanted to do something amazing, and show people that I had something that I could be proud of." Mallory blushed lightly, giving a nervous laugh as she glanced back at Camus. "Ah, sorry Camus-senpai, I'm probably boring you with what I'm saying."

"Not at all, it's actually enlightening to know more about your goals and ambitions." Camus answered back as he held his calm and stoic look, though he glanced her way shortly afterwards. "Do you believe that you're ready for the workload that you'll receive now that you've debuted?" Mallory gave an unsure look, thinking to herself; was she? I mean, nothing had happened yet, or was set in stone, but she knew that Saotome would be assigning her jobs and promotions once she got back to the Dorms.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I don't have much of a choice." Mallory gave a small laugh, giggling lightly. "Even if I do get a lot of work, I'll do my very best to make Saotome Agency look good! And I know that I'll do fine, thanks to everything that you and Quartet Night have taught me, Camus-senpai." She saw Camus give a nod of his head, a small smile coming to his lips.

"I am sure you'll do well Nakagawa-san; I look forward to seeing what you are fully capable of accomplishing." Mallory kept her smile, her cheeks flushing a light pink, a feeling of giddiness washing through her. She was grateful that her teachers were so supportive, and that she could count on them. She sure was lucky, and she hoped that she could repay them back for their kindness one day; it was the least she could do.

"Oh," Mallory held up her wrist lightly, showing the bracelet that she had received before she had sung on stage, "thank you by the way; it was thoughtful of you to get this for me. I wish I could return the favor."

"You do not need to Nakagawa-san, it is a gift from all of Quartet Night; there is no need to repay us." He glanced at the bracelet as Mallory held her smile, watching the jewelry twinkle and shine in the sunlight that washed over the two. "It was Kotobuki's idea to get you a good luck present, and we all agreed. All you need to do is continue to strive and do your best; that is all we ask from you." Mallory gave a determined nod of her head, looking at Camus.

"I promise I won't let you down. I'll do my very best to show people what you've taught me." As Mallory walked, she heard the sound of old time carnival organ music playing, and her feet stopped in her place, glancing around to find where the music was coming from, a bright smile coming to her lips. "Do you hear that music?" She asked, the smile not leaving her face as she tried to pin point it's location. It sounded faded, coming from a ways away from them, but she was sure it was close by. She glanced around, a nostalgic feeling floating in her chest as Camus looked as well, noticing the sound coming from somewhere up ahead as he motioned to Mallory where the noise was coming from.

"It's coming from around the corner." Camus replied, pointing over towards the direction the music was coming from, before he noticed Mallory beginning to run over to where the sound was. "Nakagawa-san?" He questioned, before following after the girl, though not as fast as her as she ran over around the corner, before her eyes were greeted to a wonderful sight. A large shining carousel was what greeted the young girls eyes, painted in rich colors of reds, greens, pinks, whites, and golds, as she saw happy children riding on the many white jewel adorned horses that were on the ride. She gave a smile as she walked over, her hands grasping the small gated fence that was around as she watched the children and parents on the ride, a wave of nostalgia washing over her. It brought back so many memories, seeing the carousel again.

"I can't believe it's still here." Mallory said quietly to herself, feeling herself get a bit choked up, before she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around, notching Camus behind her, and breathing a bit heavily. "Ah, I'm sorry Camus-senpai, I didn't mean to make you run. I just...got excited, and I couldn't keep still." Camus simply gave a shake of his head, looking at his student, before he noticed what exactly she was so excited about.

"You were wondering about this?" He asked, after regaining his breath as he looked at the children's ride. Mallory gave a small nod, looking back at the carousal as gave a smile.

"Before Saotome made this park, there was a much smaller amusement park here. When I was younger, my mother would always take myself and my older sister here. This was one of our favorite rides to go on together, and I always couldn't wait to go on it with my mother."

* * *

_"Mommy, mommy there it is!" Mallory exclaimed as she tugged her mother along, pointing at the carousel in view of the girl. "Can we go on it? Please, please, please?" Mallory's mother gave a small laugh at her daughter's begging, but gave a nod as Mallory cheered in happiness. _

_ "Which one do you want to go on?" Mallory asked as thy looked at all the different horses on display for the ride._

_ "Hmm, why not those two?" Her mother pointed towards two horses, both pure white with gold saddles adorned with jewels as Mallory gave a giddy nod, running up towards the two as soon as the gates were opened. Mallory, with her mother's help of course, was able to get on the horse as she was strapped on, along with her mother on the next horse as she gave a smile. "You ready?"_

_ "Yep!" Mallory said with a grin as the ride began to start, the music filling her ears as she laughed, with her mother simply gave a smile at her daughter._

_ "You really like this ride, don't you?" She asked as Mallory gave a nod, smiling at her mother. "Well then, how about every time we come here, you and I go on the carousel?" Mallory simply gave a cheer of happiness as the two laughed happily together._

* * *

"She always knew how to make me happy, and we always had a fun time when we went on this together." Mallory mentioned with a smile, watching the ride go as children laughed and played.

"Your mother sounds like a very kind woman." Camus mentioned, glancing at Mallory as his student gave a nod.

"She was. Though after she...died, the park got shut down and was demolished due to low funds for the park. I remember when I was walking home from school and saw it being torn down, I was so angry that I ran out into the construction site and yelled at the workers." Her smile fell for a few moments, not wanting to remember all the terrible memories of her mother being sick. It always made her so sad, and it made her quiet, distant from others. She took a breath, and gave a small smile back to Camus. "Though I'm actually really happy. The carousel here is actually the same one from that park all those years ago." Mallory could tell, there was no mistaking it by the music and the different horses that were in the ride. She gave a sigh, seeing the ride stop in order for the children and parents to get off, as she turned to glance at Camus. "Um, Camus-senpai?"

"Hmm?" He glanced at his student, "What is it, Nakagawa-san?" Mallory gave a hesitant look, her face blushing lightly as she looked at her teacher.

"Um...if it's alright with you, could I go on this?" It brought back memories of her mother, and she was so happy to see that it wasn't torn down; she felt like she had to go on it now. She wanted to feel the happiness she felt with her mother again, something she hadn't felt in a long time. She gave a joy-filled smile when she saw Camus give a nod, a small smile on his face as well.

"Go ahead Nakagawa-san, I'll watch you." Mallory gave a grin, before turning to go get into the ride, when she turned back towards Camus.

"Senpai, why don't you go on with me? You'll have fun, I promise." She asked, looking at Camus with an almost pleading look, as he looked back at his student, before giving a small smile.

"Alright." He simply said, walking along with her as she gave a grin, as Camus couldn't help but have a small smile come to his face as he watched his student. Mallory gave a small smile as the two got into line, the gate opening as Mallory took Camus's hand in hers to lead him along, running to find the horses that she remembered long ago.

"There they are!" Mallory said with a smile, seeing the two horses on the rides as the two stepped on to the carousel's platform, before maneuvering through the other horses to make their way to the ones that caught Mallory's eye. It was like she was back with her mother, seeing the horses in their beautiful gold saddles and adorned jewels of red, blue, pink and yellows. "They were re-painted too." Mallory muttered with a smile, walking over to the horses as she settled her hand on the one that she always rode on when she was a child, as Camus came over to look at the one that her mother would use.

"How could you tell that these are the same ones?" Camus asked curiously, looking over the plastic horses and their details, as Mallory continued to stare at the horses.

"I just know, you know?" Mallory said, looking back a Camus. "Sometimes, you just know something, and this is what I know. They're the same, there's no doubt." The bell to get on the horses sounded as Mallory gave a grin, lifting herself to get on hers as Camus got on his, Mallory noticing that Camus settled himself on the horse rather refined, as if he had ridden one before. "Oh, I remembered, you're a count for a Queen back where you live." Camus gave a nod, settling on the horses as glanced back at Mallory.

"The Queen of the Silk Palace, back in the Kingdom of Permafrost. My family lived in the palace and swore our loyalty to the Silk Queen, and was given the name Camus." Mallory gave a questioning look, looking t her teacher.

"Given the name? Does that mean Camus isn't your real name?" Camus looked back at his student with a blank stare, his icy blue eyes staring back at hers, before giving a small smirk.

"You'll just have to find out one day." Mallory gave a small groan, wondering what Camus's real name was. She was curious now, but she was sure he would never tell her, or anyone for that matter. Before she could answer back, the ride started as she gave a grin, the thoughts on Camus's name drifting away as she gave a grin. The ride began to move as a small breeze blew by, Mallory taking a deep breath as her heart fluttered lightly; it was just like she was with her mother again, feeling this same breeze, having so much fun with her. Her hands grasped the gold pole that held the horse in place, shaking lightly as she continued to smile. Camus watched the scenery around him spin as he heard children laugh in delight, before he glanced down at his student, before his eyes widened lightly to see tears running down her cheeks.

"Nakagwa-san?" He asked lowly, wondering why she was crying so suddenly. Mallory glanced at Camus, as he noticed the smile that never left her face. He stayed silent however as he realized why she was crying, as he simply gave a worried expression. Mallory looked at Camus, the smile still gracing her lips as tears ran own her cheeks, her voice faltering lightly.

"This is fun, right Camus-senpai?" She asked softly, her voice cracking lightly from the tears that had come from her eyes. He took in a small breath, before giving a small nod.

"It is, Nakagawa-san."

* * *

After the ride had come to a atop, Camus got of his horse as he noticed that Mallory had not gotten off hers, her hands still grasping the pole in front of her, as if it would disappear if she let go even a little.

"...Mallory." Camus said, as Mallory glanced at her teacher, her tears now gone, but her cheeks lightly red from her tears before. She wiped away any tears that were left as she gave a small nod, turning to get off the horse, before she felt a hand grasp hers. She looked to see Camus with a serious look, helping her down as she landed on the ground softly, her hand still in his. Camus watched his student quietly, not uttering a word as the two left the carousel, Mallory still grasping Camus's hand in hers. His hand was soft she noticed, and she never wanted to let go. It was comforting, and she wished it could last forever. The two walked for what seemed like hours, until they made it to a bench that Mallory could sit down on, as Camus watched her.

"Thank you, Camus-senpai." Mallory said quietly, as he gave a nod to her.

"Are you alright?" He asked, watching her gave a slow nod. She glanced up at Camus, giving a small smile.

"I just got really emotional back there, remembering my mom I mean. I'm sorry you had to see that." Camus gave a small shake of his head, looking down at Mallory softly.

"There's no need for you to apologize. You did nothing wrong, Nakagawa-san." Mallory gave a slow nod, her small smile to Camus never leaving her face as she jumped lightly, feeling her phone in her pocket vibrate as she took it out.

"Uh, we have to go back to the Amphitheater. The photo shoot and autographs will be happening in an hour." She looked back up at Camus, giving an apologetic look. "I'm sorry that we didn't get to do more things." Camus gave another shake of his head, a small smile coming to his face.

"It's alright Nakagawa-san, even if you don't believe it...I had a nice time." Mallory gave a nod, smiling as the two began to walk once more back to the amphitheater.

"I'm glad you had a nice time too."

* * *

Mallory said goodbye to Camus as she watched him leave, remembering that he said he had to go back to the dorms as well to help STARISH with something. She began to put her stage outfit back on as she began to put on light makeup, seeing Nami run over to her.

"Mal-chan!" She exclaimed, a grin on her face as she looked at her friend. "Did you go out into the park?" She asked curiously, already in her stage outfit as Mallory gave a nod.

"Oh, yeah I did. I got to spend time with my friends. I'm sorry that you and I didn't get to hang out when we had the time." Nami simply gave a smile, with a shake of her head.

"It's no problem Mal-chan. We can always hang out some other time when we have some more freedom." Mallory gave a laugh, giving a nod as she waved goodbye to Nami, seeing her go out to the front gate area to meet up with the other idols. When she was finally done, she got to her feet as she settled her tiara headband in her hair, before giving a small smile. So much had happened today, it was something she would surely never forget.

"Nakagawa-san, we need you!" A staff called to Mallory, jumping lightly as she ran out past a few people, hoping to not be late. She turned a corner to get to the entrance, but yelped lightly when she bumped into someone rather roughly, losing her balance. She felt her feet stumble to regain her balance, but was pulled back by a pair of hands, one around her waist, and another grasping her hand so she wouldn't fall. Her eyes blinked in surprise from the shock of almost falling as well as the pair of eyes that stared back into hers.

"You should be more careful, Mallory-san." She swallowed lightly as his cyan colored eyes bore into her dark brown ones, as she gave a small nod.

"T-Thank you, Ai-senpai."

* * *

**Whew that chapter was a bit tough to write! At least I got it done before another month passed.**

**Now it's time for the last chapter of the Amusement Park series, with the last member of Quartet Night, our dear calm and calculating Mikaze Ai!**

**Now I know what you're all thinking, you want the Ferris Wheel. A lot of you have told me this, and I have to agree, but for the sake of choices, and due to the fact that all the other chapters had at least one other choice, I'll have to put something else to make it fair.**

**Now the choices for this last chapter f the series will be either:**

**Ferris Wheel**

**or**

**Flower Garden**

**I know that a flower garden isn't a ride, but some amusement parks that I've been to have some, and I thought it could be a different take for a chapter! Now you may cast your votes as soon as you read this chapter, because voting will end this week, on August 9th, so cast in your votes when you can!**

**I'm really excited for the last chapter, and I hope you all are too!**

**Reviews=LOVE!**

**Peace!**


	11. Flowers and Ferris Wheels

**Woooo, next chapter! And it's with Ai-senpai! Ahhhh! XD**

**Now you all voted, and flower garden won! Yay!**

**I hope you all enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Alright everyone, we'll have the guests settled in the photo area where you may take pictures with them! After that, they will be available to sign autographs, but only for two hours!" Staff members explained the rules of the pictures and signings as the idols got ready in the picture area, the back drop showing the logo for the IDOL START concert that was held that same day, as Mallory shuffled on her feet lightly, surrounded by the other girls that had performed. She saw news photographers getting ready with their equipment as she noticed Ai standing near the back of the crowd, simply watching everything be set up, his hands in his pockets as he gave a blank stare out at the scenery.

"_Ne_, what are you staring at Mal-chan?" Nami asked curiously as she looked in the direction that Mallory was looking, giving a sly smirk towards her friend. "Oh I see, your boyfriend huh?"

"What?!" Mallory exclaimed, turning to Nami as she tore her gaze away from her teacher to her friend, a blush coming to her face. "No, no way! He's just my teacher is all!" Nami gave a surprised look, giving a sheepish grin.

"Oh your teacher, whoops! Sorry, but you were just staring at him for so long that I just kinda assumed." Nami looked back at Ai, seeing him stare back at the two as she gave a small wave to him, to which he simply looked away. Mallory gave a small huff, the blush on her face starting to fade as she glanced at Ai for a few moments, seeing him turn away before turning back to Nami.

"It's...ok. Besides, you should know that I'm not allowed to date anyone, with that weird rule and all." Mallory said back, muttering the sentence Nami, but almost to herself as well.

"Oh yeah, something about Saotome Agency not letting their idols be allowed to date or something. I could see why he would have that rule, but it's kinda weird though." However, before the two could talk any longer, the photos and the autographs had begun. Each girl sat in their own seat as people would get in line to get a picture or an autograph signed by one of the idols. Each of the lines was rather long but as each moment passed, Mallory couldn't help but think back about what the two had been talking about.

_"I don't like Ai that way, I don't. I mean...even though my heart goes fast when I'm near him, and I get nervous when he looks at me, it doesn't mean anything serious."_

* * *

"That was a lot of work, I think my hand is cramped." Nami said with a sigh as the autographs and pictures were finally finished with guests. "Now all we gotta do is do our photo shoots for the fan book and we'll be done for the day!" Mallory gave a yawn, but nodded to her friend as she wiped her eyes. She was rather exhausted from the days work and the concert, she was sure she had never been this tired in her life. "Come on, let's go find out what the locations for our shoots are gonna be!" The two girls made it over to the scheduler, looking over the clipboard as Nami gave a smile.

"I get to have my shoot at the Crepe shop!" She gave a grin as she danced around for a few moments, obviously excited. "Let's see what you got Mal-chan! Hmm...ah, here it is! Ooh, you got the flower garden!"

"Flower garden?" Mallory asked curiously, looking at the clipboard; she had been around most of the park, but the whole time she hadn't seen a flower garden around. Well, whether there was one or not, that was where she was going to be heading.

"Yeah, it's a giant park filled with different flowers! I heard that a lot of people go there to take their special someone out on a date!" Nami rummaged through her bag as she handed Mallory a pamphlet from the attraction, having activities, and even different facts on the flowers in the gardens.

"Wow..." Mallory trailed off, seeing all the different things at the flower garden; she was starting to get curious now. Her head tilted up however when the staff called for the girls to get ready, Mallory giving a small frown. "Ah, I guess we have to get going to our locations. I'll talk to you later though, ok?"

"Of course! I got your number so I'll text you later." Nami gave a wave goodbye to her as she ran off to get ready with the photography group, as Mallory folded the pamphlet into her bag.

"Nakagawa-san." Mallory jumped lightly when she heard a voice behind her, turning slowly to see Ai, as she gave a sigh of relief.

"Ai-senpai, you startled me." She gave a weary smile, holding a hand to her chest as she took a breath to calm herself; she had almost dropped her bag and all her belongings.

"I'll be following you over to the photo shoot area to make sure you stay on schedule, is that clear?" Mallory gave a nod, before the crew called her over to get ready to leave towards the flower garden. They would have an hour or two to get the right shots before the park would begin to close, and Mallory was as determined as ever to get the perfect shots.

* * *

"Great job Nakagawa-san! We'll be taking a twenty-minute break, so feel free to take a small break!" Mallory gave a nod to the photographers, as she looked around at the flower garden. She wasn't sure how she would miss this in the amusement park, but she was sure glad that she got to see it. Flowers were all around as brick pathways lead to groups of different flowers in season, almost all of them in full bloom as Mallory took a deep breath; she remembered how flowers would help her cheer up, especially during those hard months in her youth.

"I hope you can see this mom, I'm sure you would love this." Mallory muttered, seeing all the bright exuberant colors around her, a light breeze blowing past her as she heard footsteps behind her. She turned, and gave a small smile. "Ai-senpai, I think I'm almost done with the shoot, we got some good shots, and I think we just need to do a few more before we're finished."

"As long as we're not off the schedule, than I'm fine." He took a small breath, glancing at all the flowers around them, before turning back to his student. "Your song at the concert, it was good."

"R-Really?" Mallory asked, stuttering when she heard Ai. She saw him give a small nod, as she gave a grin.

"You do need more practice though, some notes were a bit off-key, but it's something we'll work on." Mallory gave a nervous look, but a nod none the less. She was just glad that he thought she was good; he thought she was good! It made her feel happy inside, even if he didn't know it.

"Alright senpai, I'll work on that when I get back." She stretched for a few moments as she gave a yawn, before deciding that break would be something that she needed. She sat down on the soft grass below her, before moving slightly to lay her body completely on the ground beneath her. The sky above her held clouds of all shapes and sizes, giving a smile as she began to imagine the clouds as animals or shapes, tilting her head slightly as she did so.

"Nakagawa-san, what are you doing?"

"I'm watching the clouds." Mallory answered with a smile, looking at all the clouds pass by, "It's fun to see what shapes they turn into; sometimes they even look like animals." She gave another yawn again however, her eyelids starting to feel heavy; she really was exhausted after the concert. She had used so much energy in her song from trying to get everyone excited, herself included, that she had tired herself out; she was actually rather surprised that she had lasted this long without passing out on the ground.

"It sounds rather childish." Ai simply said as he watched his student with a rather perplexed look, before looking up at the sky. He turned back to Mallory to continue further, but stopped as he looked down at the girl to see that she had drifted off to sleep. He looked down at her, seeing her chest rise and fall as she breathed slowly, unaware that he was watching. _"She must had been exhausted after what had happened today",_ he thought,_ "it was only natural that she would fall asleep after everything that she had done._

"Honestly, it seems like I'm always having to watch over you." Even though he had said it, he didn't mind watching her, much to his confusion. What was it that made her so interesting? It was so perplexing, something he couldn't solve with simple calculations or data that he had on his student; why? Why was it so difficult? He simply breathed in deeply, before settling himself next to Mallory, glancing at the clouds as a breeze passed by them once more. What made her such an enigma?

His hands were settled at his sides, and their fingertips bumped lightly against one another.

* * *

"Hmm?" Light shined through Mallory's eyes as she squinted lightly, giving another yawn as she slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes before she looked around. "Ah!" She jumped when she turned her head to see a pair of cyan colored eyes staring back into hers, and sitting right next to her no less. "A-Ai-senpai! How long have you been sitting here?"

"Approximately ten minutes and fifty-two seconds." He said back rather plainly, despite the exact number that was given as Mallory blinked lightly. "You fell asleep, so I watched you to make sure no one disturbed you." Mallory was about to speak, but stopped herself, her face blushing lightly at the realization that her teacher had to take time out of his schedule to watch over her.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't even know I fell asleep." She gave a sheepish look of apology, bowing her head lightly to her teacher. He glanced away for a few moments, before looking back at Mallory.

"Just don't let it happen again." She gave a nod, before she heard the photographers call for her. She hastily got to her feet as she ran over, careful not to trip or fall as she walked over to the crew.

"Ah Nakagawa-san, we have all the shots we need for the fan book, so you're free to walk around the park until closing." Mallory gave a grin, nodding to the crew before she gave them a bow, thanking them for their hard work. She ran back over to Ai, who was now on his feet, giving a blank stare to Mallory when she came back over.

"They said I was done with the shoot, so they said I could walk around the park until closing." Mallory gave a small smile, shuffling on her feet lightly, shyly looking back at Ai. There was no harm in asking him, but she was sill nervous regardless. "Mikaze-senpai?"

"What is it?" He asked bluntly, looking back at Mallory as she straitened up slightly, blinking as her face flushed a light shade of pink.

"Um, well, since we have some free time, I was wondering if you wanted to walk around the flower garden...with me." Why was she suddenly in the habit of getting nervous around Ai? This had never happened before when the two had gotten used to each other, why now? He was just her teacher, a mentor to teach her the necessary steps to becoming an idol. There was nothing more to it!

_"Or is there?"_ Mallory wondered, still troubled by the thoughts of her teacher.

"I have time." Her thoughts cut off when she heard him speak, but she looked back at Ai, her eyes widened slightly. She must had heard him wrong, or maybe she wasn't paying attention to him when he had answered her, but she could have sworn he heard him agree to her proposal.

"I-I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" She must have sounded rather dumb when she asked that question, considering that when he had answered he was right in front of her, but Ai stared back into her brown eyes, his cyan eyes softening lightly.

"I said that I had time." Ai answered once more to Mallory, turning to look at her. "We can look around if you would like, I have nothing else to do for the day." Her heart began to beat a bit faster when she heard his answer, feeling as if her heart would burst from her chest. Why was this such a big deal to her? Well, they would be alone together, but that didn't mean anything. They had been alone together before, was it because they were in public? Or maybe it was because they weren't near any of the other members; they were in fact, truly alone. "Nakagawa-san?" Mallory turned back to look at Ai, her face flushing a light shade of pink again.

"A-Ah, I'm sorry, I heard you Ai-senpai! Well then, let's get going then, shall we?" She saw him blink towards her, his eyes giving her a calculating gaze, studying her, wondering what making her act this way. She didn't fully understand either, she just hoped it wasn't what she thought it was. He simply stayed quiet however, as Mallory began to walk along the brick paved road, as Ai followed behind her. Mallory stayed silent, hoping that the thoughts that lingered her in her mind would go away.

* * *

"It's very pretty." Mallory mentioned aloud as she walked along the pathway, her heels clicking lightly against the bricks to create light sounds as she walked. The two had been silent for a good few minutes, with Mallory only giving small comments here or there to make small talk, but nothing had really come up for the two to have a real conversation; they would simply comment once or twice on a subject and then be back to silence once more. To say the least, it was rather irritating to Mallory, but what could she do? The two were rather quiet when alone, conversations rarely going longer then a few minutes before one either had to leave or awkward silence would take over. She gave a small sigh, her attention turning to see a small group of flowers nearby as she walked over to them, kneeling down lightly to look at the detail of the flowers, smelling the light aroma they possessed. "Carnations are beautiful, aren't they? I remember my mother used to tell me they stood for something...what was it again?"

"Divine love." Mallory turned from her spot as she looked at Ai, seeing him next to her, crouched down as well to study the flowers. "In general they stand for divine love, but other colored ones have their own meanings." Mallory blinked lightly at her teacher, his gaze still fixated on the flowers as her eyes sparkled lightly in the light.

"How'd you know that, Ai-senpai?" She was curious how he knew about flower language, maybe it was a past time of his to know them, or maybe he had simply read up on the subject before. He gazed turned to glance at his student, stoic and rather plain, with no emotion shown in his expression.

"I've learned of every flower and it's meaning on my days off. It's simple enough to read and memorize." Mallory blinked at the statement, her mouth agape lightly as she looked at her teacher; memorized all the flowers, and their meanings? When did he possibly have all that time to read such things, and how could he possibly remember all the flowers, there were so many!

"A-Ai-senpai, you're saying that you've memorized every flower and their meaning? Seriously?" No one could be that smart or memorize that easily; it would take someone months just to be able to memorize half of the list of flowers!

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Ai sighed lightly, getting to his feet as he glanced away, a small almost unnoticeable pout on his lips. "I told you the truth, it's not like I'm lying." Mallory blinked once more, giving a small nod to her teacher, though wondering to herself; did he really memorize all the meanings? A thought struck her mind as she opened her purse, digging through it lightly until she pulled out what she'd been looking for; the brochure that Nami had given her. She opened the folded pamphlet as she looked through the flowers, glancing at the Carnation before finding it on the brochure, seeing it's meaning was in fact 'Divine Love'.

"I guess you do know your flowers Ai-senpai," Mallory said as she looked at the brochure, "though that was only one." She looked around their surroundings, seeing another flower in her sights as she pointed over to it. "What's the meaning of daisies?"

"Innocence." Ai simply said, as Mallory looked through the brochure, seeing that he was right, once again.

"What about those?" Mallory asked,pointing to a small group of violets.

"Modesty." He watched as Mallory gave a small pout, seeing that he was, again, correct. "How long do you plan on being proven wrong?" He asked, raising an eyebrow lightly towards his student as Mallory gave a frown, folding the brochure back into her bag as she looked back at Ai.

"Fine, fine, you win; I guess I shouldn't doubt my teacher when he says something."

"You're right, you shouldn't." His bluntness was rather uncanny, and she gave a small sigh, but a small smile as well; the two were bonding, somewhat, and were having a good time; well, Mallory was hoping Ai was at least.

* * *

"I'm glad that we got to see all this, I would have missed out if I hadn't." Mallory commented with a smile as the two were sitting at a small table within the flower garden, a small café being held with the theme of flowers. The two had decided that a break was needed, and they both ordered a pot of rose tea to share. "A-Are you having a good time, Ai-senpai?" She saw him take a small sip of his tea, swallowing before glancing back at Mallory, his eyes staring back into hers.

"It's been fine so far." He said bluntly, setting his cup down as he settled in his chair, glancing around to watch other guests pass by them, some glancing at Mallory every so often; she was still in her stage outfit after all, and people had recognized her from the concert earlier that day. Mallory gave a small sigh, relieved that he wasn't at all bored by her company, before giving a small smile back. She began to notice as some people walked by, some women and men were carrying bouquets of flowers.

"I've seen them a lot today actually." Mallory said to herself aloud, chin resting in her hand as she watched people walk by with them.

"Seen what?" Ai asked, wondering what his student was muttering about; she usually muttered from time to time, and it would become annoying to him every so often, having to tell her to stop or to simply keep it to herself.

"These bouquets of flowers that people have been holding, maybe they get them from the gardens maybe?" She was generally curious; all of them looked so unique and beautiful, she wished she could see them for herself.

"The flower garden has a booth where you can buy bouquets here, or make one yourself as a gift. It's in that brochure you have, I'm sure." Mallory blinked as she took out the brochure, wondering she hadn't thought of checking herself as she looked through it, and low and behold, her teacher was right again.

"It seems to be a special event that they do every few months in the spring...but it's ending today? No fair." Mallory gave a small huff as she set the brochure down lightly on to the table, slouching in her chair lightly at disheartening news.

"You know you still have time to go and see it before we have to go back." Ai said bluntly, "Just make sure to make it quick." Mallory gave a smile, her face beaming as she bolted to her feet, excited to see the bouquets in person.

"Let's go now then!" Mallory said with a beaming smile, her eyes almost sparkling from the pure joy she was feeling in her chest. She saw Ai simply get to his feet, seeing him drink the last of his tea before looking back at Mallory.

"Lead the way."

* * *

"Woah, there's so many people..." Mallory trailed off, her face showing a look of nervousness as she saw a crowd of people around the booth that she had searched for.

_"Of course a lot of people would be here stupid, it's the last day."_ Mallory thought to herself, scolding herself mentally for not thinking to come earlier; if only she had thought to ask about the bouquets earlier, maybe she would have had a better chance of seeing them. She gave a small grimace to herself, her thoughts reminding her of a certain silver-haired teacher of hers, he would have surely said something similar, if not the same thing, to her. She gave a small sigh, looking back at Ai with an apologetic look. "Ah,_ gomen _Ai-senpai, I dragged you all the way here for nothing; I'm not sure we'll have enough time to look at the bouquets after all."

"There's nothing to be sorry about; we can simply wait." Mallory blinked lightly, before giving a small smile, nodding to Ai. "Right, thank you, Ai."

The two waited behind the large crowd of people, seeing people leave with or without bouquets, until the two got to the front of the booth to preview the different options they had.

"W-Wow, they're beautiful!" Mallory awed, seeing the many bouquets on display to buy from the venue. She could see all kinds of different flowers; roses, daffodils, violets. It was an explosion of color and scents, and it was as beautiful as Mallory had pictured it. The smile never left her face as she looked over the bouquets, her eyes scanning them until her eyes stopped to look at a particular bouquet containing a flower she knew all to well, the Primrose. Her smile began to fade, until it left her face to be replaced by a frown, her eyes no longer holding the sparkle that they held before. Her eyes lowered lightly, her face giving off a more sullen look, her mind remembering back to what had happened the day she bought those flowers.

* * *

_"I'm sure mom will love these!" Mallory, now eight years old, exclaimed happily, holding a small bouquet of yellow-orange primroses in her arms as she ran to the hospital where her mother was being taken care of. It had been a rather tough year for her family after her mother had gotten sick, but no matter what, she went to the hospital every day to visit her mother. _

_ She ran towards the hospital as the doors opened for her, giving a grin as ran to get to the elevator, bouncing in her steps, though making sure she didn't ruin the flowers in her small arms. When the elevator doors opened, she jumped out with a smile, jogging over to her mothers room with the flowers tucked neatly one arm. She gave a small breath, a grin on her face as her other hand reached for the door handle, opening the door as she grinned._

_ "Mom, I'm here! I brought you a bouquet of-" Her voice was cut off when she noticed the room that her mother had been occupied was empty, her mother no where in sight. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked at the empty bed, her heart feeling as if it had stopped._

_ "Mom?"_

* * *

"Nakagawa-san?" Mallory jumped lightly, her trance on the flowers broken as she turned suddenly, seeing Ai looking back at her. He leaned in closer towards her, his eyes staring back into hers as she looked back at Ai, her face holding confusion, her face feeling warmer as his face came closer to hers.

"You were staring into space for a while; five minutes and fifty-two seconds to be precise." He said simply, watching her as she glanced away.

"It's nothing, just...remembering something about my mom, is all." Ai looked at Mallory but turned away from her to look at the bouquets as well, looking at the fresh flowers that graced their eyes. He didn't say anything after that, and Mallory gave a small sigh, trying to push away the thoughts of her memories coming back to her; she didn't want to remember that memory in particular, a stinging sensation shooting through her heart when it came back.

"Would you like a bouquet?" Mallory heard a voice and turned to see a vendor from the booth, looking at Mallory and Ai curiously.

"U-Uh, I'm not sure actually." Mallory answered back, stuttering lightly as she looked at the bouquets; there were so many, how would she even choose? "Um, how much are the bouquets, if I could ask?"

"They vary in price, but our starting price for our basic bouquets are four thousand five hundred yen." Mallory jumped lightly, a shocked look on her face; that much, for a starting bouquet?! Even if it wasn't that much of money to one person, Mallory didn't have a lot of money to spend to begin with, mostly saving it to send to her father while he lived at their childhood home, plus having to pay for some of the expenses for living in the dorms, and sewing supplies...

"U-Uh, I'm good actually, thank you though." The vendor gave a smile and a nod as she left the two, as Mallory gave a small sigh, turning to Ai. "I thought I could maybe get one for my room, but they're too much money. Besides, the others are probably waiting for us, so we should probably get going now." Ai simply gave a small nod, as they both made their way out of the garden. The sun began to set as the park gave out the message that it would be closing soon. Mallory gave a sigh, a slight breeze passing by the two as she looked around, stopping in her tracks when she looked to see a ferris wheel a few feet away from the two. "I wonder if it's still open?"

"You mean the ferris wheel." Ai stated, looking at the ride with a blank look. "You want to go on it." It wasn't a question, more of a sentence, as Mallory gave a small nod.

"We don't have to, if you don't want to I mean." Mallory said, though it was clear that she did want to ride on it. With a small sigh, he began to walk towards the ride, as Mallory quickly followed after her teacher. Just in time to get to the last call for the ride, the two waited in line to get on to the ferris wheel.

"Why this ride?" Ai wondered, glancing over the ride in front of them as Mallory leaned against the metal railings beside them, looking down.

"My mother really liked this ride, it was actually her favorite." Mallory glanced up at the ferris wheel in view, a small smile coming to her lips. "She always loved seeing the town from a high view, especially when it was right at a sunset like this." The line began to move as the two waited for the next capsule to come in front of them, before the attendant opened the ride for the two. Both Mallory and Ai walked in, however the two had to end up sitting next to each other, due to the capsule only having one seat. Mallory was rather quiet now, her face flushing red; the two were in a ride together, and the space in the capsule was rather small, along with sitting next to Ai, and so close to him as well. She tried not look at him, to nervous to even try to speak.

"You always talk about your mother, she was that important to you?" Mallory's head turned as she glanced at Ai, looking at him slightly surprised; she didn't think he would even ask a question about her mom; it always sounded like a touchy subject to them when she spoke of her. She glanced down at her feet for a few moments, before nodding.

"She's the reason I love to do what I do; she told me to never give up on my dreams, and that I could be whoever I wanted to be." A small smile came to her lips as looked out the window of the ferris wheel, "She always helped me with my homework, or made me feel better when I got a bad grade or wasn't feeling well; she was always there for me, until the end." Mallory turned back to look at Ai, a smile still on her lips. "I wish I could see her again one day; if I could, I would just want to thank her for everything that she did for me."

"I see." Ai simply said back, as Mallory looked back at him, silence filling the air around them. Before Mallory could try to speak again, the ride had gotten to the top as the sunset shined over the clouds, creating a beautiful scene. Her eyes sparkled as she took in the beautiful sunset, the yellows and oranges from the sun shinning along the clouds as it took her breath away.

"Beautiful." She muttered lightly, before she yawned, rubbing her eyes to try to keep herself awake; this was the third or fourth time now that exhaustion had tried to claim her.

"You're tired." Ai simply said, observing his student as she rubbed her eyes, looking rather exhausted, as if she were about to pass out.

"Yeah, I wasn't joking on stage when I said I had tired myself out." She muttered, yawning once more as began to nod off, trying to stay awake. She began to lean her head against the window beside her, but it was rather uncomfortable, and she sat back up, groaning lightly. If she were to sleep against the window, her shoulder would surely be stinging once the ride had ended. She gave a sigh, sitting up as she closed her eyes, trying to get in a small nap before the ride ended so she would have some energy left to get home.

* * *

Ai had noticed that Mallory had gotten rather quiet a few moments, ago, but didn't think anything of it. He simply watched the sunset begin to fade, as the sky began to turn dark, seeing the sparkling lights in the sky begin to appear. The sight was rather beautiful, something that many people didn't take time to experience, but it was something to behold when you took the time. Ai was still looking at the sky when he blinked lightly feeling something heavy against his shoulder as he glanced beside him to see that Mallory had dozed off, asleep. Her body had slumped over lightly to her right, her head now resting on his shoulder as her chest rose and fell every few moments.

"Nakagawa-san." Ai called to Mallory, hoping to wake her up to tell her that she was invading his personal space, but she didn't stir, continuing to sleep as he gave a sigh. "You can be such a bother sometimes..." Even as he trailed off, he continued to let her sleep against his shoulder, glancing down at her as she slept, watching her breath slowly. His eyes softened at her petite form, turning his head to look down at her, observing her. Why was she so confusing, so hard to figure out? She was doing something to him that he couldn't understand, and it always frustrated him. His heart was beating faster when the talked, and just the small gestures she made always made his eyes linger on her for a few more seconds, before realizing what he was doing. "And before..." He trailed off, remembering what had happened when he had seen her at her dorm room.

* * *

_"M-Mikaze-senpai!" Mallory breathed out, sniffling lightly as she tried to wipe her tears as fast as possible with her hands, hoping not embarrass herself any further then she already had. "I'm sorry, I must have been really loud..."_

_ "Why are you crying?" He asked this rather bluntly, but he was curious, wondering why his student was in tears. Mallory was silent for a few moments, before giving a small laugh, a fake smile coming to her lips, though the tears still flowed down her cheeks, the sight rather heart breaking._

_ "I was just talking to Kurosaki-senpai is all; I know about his past and I went to confront him about it. I-It didn't really turn out well and he ended up yelling at me, but it's fine! It was my fault anyways..." Even as she said this, trying to brush the incident aside as if it was nothing, she still hurt every time she thought about it._

_ "Blaming things on yourself solves nothing." Ai said back to Mallory, watching his student try to blame herself for what happened. In truth, he had heard yelling coming from Ranmaru's room and went to investigate, but by the time he had gotten there, Mallory had already been walking back to her room, crying. "It was brave of you to face Kurosaki-san, though the chances of you getting through to him were below thirty percent." Mallory gave a small frown, still trying to wipe the tears from her eyes, in front of her teacher no less._

_ "T-Thanks, I guess." She sniffled lightly again, before she felt a hand push her hands away from her face, before feeling a cloth be put into her hands. She glanced up to see Ai handing her a handkerchief, as she gave a small nod. "Thank you." She muttered, before wiping away the rest of her tears, giving a small sigh once she had finished. She gave a small sigh, holding the handkerchief in her hands softly as she glanced up at Ai. "Uh...thank you again, Mikaze-senpai." She gave a small bow to her teacher, her face beginning to heat up, embarrassed beyond belief._

_ "Don't you have a meeting to get to?" He asked, watching his student. Mallory stood up straight, gasping lightly as she gave a look of worry._

_ "Oh, you're right." Mallory wiped away any tears that were still on her face, before giving a small smile to her teacher. "Thank you again Mikaze-senpai; it...means a lot that you talked to me."_

* * *

"Why did I feel a pain in my chest when I saw your tears?" He whispered into her hair lightly, remembering what had happened. The scent of vanilla came to him once more, sighing lightly as his eyes closed for a few moments, hearing her breathing lightly as he thought to himself. He opened his eyes as he slowly sat up, making sure not to disturb the sleeping girl next to him as he took out his phone, pushing a few buttons lightly before he settle the phone to his ear. A faint ringing was heard from the end of the phone, before it stopped, and the caller finally picked up.

"It's me. No I'm fine, but I think I need a check up soon." Ai glanced down at the girl next to him, simply watching her sleep peacefully, unaware that he was watching over her. "It's something I'll discuss when I come and see you in a week." Ai glanced down for a few moments, his look becoming solemn as his turned to the window next to him, the moon starting to come into view.

"I know. I'll make sure to be careful, Professor."

* * *

"Nakagawa-san." Mallory stirred lightly in her sleep as her eyes began to open, her vision blurry as she heard a voice call her once more.

"Hmm?" She sat up as she rubbed her eyes, seeing her vision to become a bit clearer as she turned to see Ai next to her, a blank star eon his face once more.

"You fell asleep." He simply said, and Mallory became fully awake, her face flushing madly as she gave an apologetic look.

"_Gomen_ Ai-senpai, I was just so exhausted that I needed to take a small nap; I'm sorry if I annoyed you or anything." He simply gave a small sigh, as glanced away from her gaze.

"It's fine." Mallory's eyes widened lightly as she heard Ai, but before she could bother to speak again, the two were ushered out of the ride. Mallory decided to keep quiet however, watching the night sky be illuminated by the moons beautiful shine. The two were quiet once more, and Mallory couldn't help but glance at Ai every few moments she could; the moonlight complimented Ai so well, it was as if it's gaze was made for him and him alone.

"The other will be waiting for us, right?" Mallory asked, as Ai gave a small nod.

"We'll be home in time to see them." Mallory gave a nod to her teacher, as the two left the park, the moonlight shining on the two as they walked.

* * *

Even after all the fun Mallory had back at the amusement park, it didn't end after she left. When the two had gotten back, the whole rest of Quartet Night and STARISH had helped to set up a small congratulations party for Mallory in honor of her first live, to which she was truly surprised about. There was food and music and fun all around, and she couldn't have been more thankful to have such wonderful friends, and even more thankful to have such amazing teachers.

"They really are the best." Mallory muttered to herself as her night of fun was about to end, walking along the carpeted floors to the girls dorm as she gave a sigh. Finally making it to her dorm room, she opened her door and turned on the light as she gave a sigh, stretching lightly as her gaze turned to her desk however, noticing something colorful. She glanced over, seeing a vase with a bouquet of flowers resting on her desk, as she walked over to it, looking over the gift. Pale pink thornless roses, rosebuds, stocks of white and purple, yellow tulips, orchids, and white carnations filled the lovely glass vase, Mallory's eyes widening over the sudden gift; how did it get into her room? And who was it from exactly? She glanced over the vase, seeing a small white card in between the flowers as she reached out to grab it, plucking it lightly in her fingers as she looked over the message, a smile coming to her lips as she gave a small laugh.

"Thank you." She muttered lightly, setting the card down on her desk as she began to get ready for bed; she would need to be ready for whatever would be coming her way over these next weeks.

* * *

_A congratulations gift from teacher to student._

* * *

**What did you think? :D**

**I know I kinda lied, I actually did both! Once reviewer, Otoya Ichinose, made a good point in their review about why the flower garden should be chosen. I do agree that it would have felt like it would just be switching Haruka and Mallory around, but I have never actually seen the scene before in Ai's route, only read on it, so I decided why not do my spin on it?!**

**And to note, Primrose means "I can't live without you"; it was kinda intentional, but sad none the less.**

**And yeah, the Professor has been mentioned! Ooooooooh.**

**I think you all know what that means, hmm? Ai's past start to pop up more, an who knows, maybe Mallory will find out something about Ai-senpai~**

**School is coming back up for me, so updates my be slow, so don't fret, I'll try to get updates done as soon as I can!**

**Also, I'm tempted to do a three person pairing for this story. Not like for the whole story, but as side chapters for this story, as in AixMalloryx?.**

**Not sure if I'll do it or not, but they idea has been lingering in my brain for a while now. Only time will tell!**

**Until next time, bye bye!**


End file.
